The Dress
by Em4
Summary: COMPLETE: Carter and Abby go searching for a dress for Richard's wedding. Events develop from there.
1. Shopping

TITLE: The Dress  
  
AUTHOR: Em  
  
DISCLAIMER: I own none of the characters of ER.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: In this story Carter and Abby are a couple but nobody knows. It's my first fanfic so don't be totally discouraging, please.  
  
SUMMARY: Abby and Carter are shopping for a dress for her to wear to Richard's wedding when their relationship takes a sudden turn.  
  
1 Part 1:  
  
Abby looked in the windows of the boutique and gazed wistfully at the dress being worn by mannequin. She had to buy a dress to go to the wedding this Saturday, and she knew it would look good on her, but could she justify the expense? She could just go in and just try it on, just to see how it looked…but then she'd fall even more in love with it and then she'd have to buy it. Why did life have to be so difficult? She was so absorbed in staring at the dress, picturing the look on Richard's face when he saw her stroll into his reception wearing a dress that cost more than his entire wedding, that she didn't hear her boyfriend approach until his hands came down on her shoulders and shocked her back to reality.  
  
"God, John, don't scare me like that! I nearly had a heart-attack!"  
  
"What were you smiling at? Didn't you hear me call you?"  
  
"I'm sorry, I was miles away."  
  
"Oh yeah, what were you thinking?" His arm had snaked around her waist, and she leaned against his shoulder as he planted a kiss on the top of her head.  
  
"I was trying to think what Richard's family would say if I walked into the reception wearing that dress. I never wore anything like that when we were married so they'd probably think I was just doing it to upstage his new wife. Which I suppose I am doing if I'm honest. I mean the only reason I'm invited in the first place is so he can play happy families in front of me and I'm damned if I'm going to act like I've been pining away for him when I'm the one who left him." She gave her head a little shake; she's already wasted too much of her time directing her anger towards Richard and she didn't intend to waste any more. She gave a little smile and continued "Besides, why do I need some fancy dress when I'm going to be walking in on the arm of one of the richest men in Chicago! Speaking of which, did you manage to get the evening off work…John… John…"  
  
He had been listening to begin with until she drew his attention to the dress, and then he couldn't take his eyes away from it. He could hear her voice calling his name but it seemed far away. He was transfixed by the image in his mind of the ivory silk shift clinging to all of Abby's curves, the cowl neck drooping to reveal the top of the curve of her breasts, the long split in the skirt revealing the mid part of her thigh and the embroidered roses on the organza shawl matching the beautiful flush on her face after they had made love…that made him smile, and led his mind to thinking about other things…  
  
"Carter!" She gave him a nudge in the ribs, instantly jerking him back to reality. He was in trouble now! The only times she called him 'Carter' nowadays was at work, where nobody knew about them, or when he was giving her his less than undivided attention.  
  
"Abby, you have to buy that dress."  
  
"Are you nuts, its nearly $2000! Its not like I have that kind of money lying around and besides, I don't want to piss Richard off that much!"  
  
"I'm telling you, honey, you have to buy that dress. You'll look sensational and who knows," he leaned in close, giving her a series of kisses on her neck and then whispering in her ear, "you might even get lucky!"  
  
"John Carter!" she laughed, pushing him away as he attempted to pull her closer and do something very personal in a very public place!  
  
"Come on," he said, dragging her towards the door of the store, "at least try it on. You know you want to."  
  
He was using the little-boy "please mummy I want a cookie" voice and giving her the puppy dog eyes, a lethal combination that they both knew would make her melt and do whatever he wanted, although in this case she didn't really need all that much persuading. She had already been debating whether to go in and try it on before John had shown up, so it wasn't like he was forcing her to do anything she didn't want to, but it was going to break her heart if she looked good in it because she wouldn't be able to buy it. God, she hoped it made her look fat! With that though in her head she followed him into the store, laughing along with him. 


	2. How they got there

Part 2  
  
They approached the superior looking sales woman and explained what they wanted. She gave a terse smile, asked Abby her dress size, and then whisked her out back to the spacious fitting rooms. Carter slumped into one of the chairs reserved for boyfriends who had been brought along on shopping trips, and he thought about how they had got where they were. After that day last summer when they thought they had found a case of smallpox in the ER he had realised how much Abby really meant to him. In one sharp moment of realisation he had seen a glimpse of what his life would be like without her in it and he knew that it was not something he was prepared to let happen. He had gone round to her flat and before she had the chance to ask any questions or get defensive on him he had kissed her, a long passionate kiss that was over two years in the making. She had been shocked at first, but he could tell that she had felt the same longing that he had. The kiss seemed to last forever, neither of them wanted to break contact. At last they broke for breath, still holding each other close. They simply stared at each other, softly panting as they tried to get their breath back. Then she had smiled "So, you want to come in?"  
  
That had been it. They spent the entire night talking, holding each other as they caught up on all the conversations they had missed. He talked about his parents' divorce and how seeing Sobricki again had really shaken him up; she talked about her drinking and what she had really felt about his relationship with Susan Lewis. At the end of the evening it was like they had never been apart. Everything was the same as it had been before only better. They hadn't had to go in to work the next day because the department was still quarantined, so after waking up on the couch to find Abby lying in his arms Carter had made them both breakfast from the meagre contents in her fridge, then they had taken a walk in the park. The sun was shining, the sky was bright, and he was happy. As they walked along with their hot-dogs Carter looked over at Abby and reflected on the great change 24 hours could make in a man's life. If somebody had told him yesterday that he would be walking with his arm linked with Abby's, laughing at the shape of a cloud that looked like Dr Weaver in one of her moods, he would have told them they were crazy. Yet here he was. It was a dream come true. It was perfect. He stopped walking, and Abby stopped as well, looking at him quizzically. He bent down and gave her a soft lingering kiss that sent a thrill all the way down her spine. There had been a lot of kisses since that first one yesterday, but this one was different. This was passion, longing, desire, companionship and love. This was "I've found the perfect person for me". He looked deep into her eyes and said the words he had said on her doorstep last night, but which now also had new meaning…"I love you, Abby."  
  
She had looked back into his eyes and said the same words. "I love you too, John."  
  
They had made a quick retreat from the park and made their way back to her apartment, barely keeping their hands off each other. They were both eager to get their bodies in contact as soon as possible but their love making was not rushed. It was the most intimate and tender act either of them had ever indulged in, and when it was over they lay in bed sated. Abby drifted off to sleep against Carter's chest, one hand resting lightly on his shoulder, whilst Carter stayed awake for hours looking at the still form beside him and the listening to the soft sound of her breathing. He eventually drifted off into the first peaceful, uninterrupted sleep he had had in two years.  
  
They both had recognised the need to keep their relationship a secret at work. Even though Carter and Luka were working towards building a tolerable working relationship, and Abby and Susan were trading pleasantries on a regular basis (occasionally even sharing a cup of coffee at Doc's) they didn't want to damage these fragile friendships by rubbing their exes noses in it. Also the rumour mill about them had finally dried up. People accepted that theirs was a close working relationship so no longer nudged each other whenever the two of them walked by in close conversation, so they didn't really want to start it up again. They could let the relationship move along at its own pace without the unsubtle comments of the fellow members of the ER staff. It was hard, though. Carter had to stop himself from touching her whenever they were near each other: it wasn't so bad if they were with a patient in one of the exam rooms, but when they were both standing at the nurses station he practically had to physically restrain himself from brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear, or simply running his hand along her arm to assure himself she was real. They had found plenty of opportunities to steal kisses, and there was always Doc's for their coffee break, but Carter wanted to shout out to everybody that he was in love with Abby. Would it ever be time to tell everybody?…  
  
At that moment Abby emerged from the fitting room. 


	3. Decisions

Part 3:  
  
Carter caught his breath. She looked exactly as he had thought she would. God she was beautiful.  
  
"Well, what do you think?" she asked, giving him a little twirl. "They had these shoes as well but I'm not quite sure…"  
  
He exhaled slowly, carefully watching his words so that he could convey exactly what he was thinking.  
  
"You're beautiful, do you know that?"  
  
"Well if I didn't you tell me often enough!"  
  
"That dress looks exquisite on you. You have to buy it now, you know that? It was made for you."  
  
"It is lovely," she said wistfully, "but I just can't afford it. It's a shame, because this would have really made Richard's mother choke on her crab cakes!"  
  
"What if I lent you the money? We can call it rent seeing as I've been practically living in your apartment these last 4 months."  
  
"That's sweet, John, but I don't need your money. This has been fun anyway, just you and me searching for a dress. We'll find something eventually, and even if we don't it doesn't matter. The important thing is that you're going to be there."  
  
She stood on tiptoes to give him a kiss on the cheek, and then she turned around and headed back towards the fitting room. Looking at her as she turned something clicked inside Carter, just as it had that day last summer. This was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. She was the love of his life. They were soul mates. Why was he hanging around waiting for her to make the next move? What was he waiting for, period? He looked up just as she disappeared into the fitting room, so he called out to her: "What if we called it your wedding dress?"  
  
There was complete silence for a few moments. Everybody in the shop was looking at him as Abby's head poked around the corner of the curtain.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I mean it, let's get married. Today. There's a jewellers down the road where we can get the rings, you've already got the perfect dress right there. We can go along to City Hall right now to get the license. Come on Abby, what do you say? Don't think about it, just say what you feel."  
  
His voice had become even more excited as he had carried on. It was almost infectious. They had been together for a while now, and they had been friends forever. They already practically lived together and they were both deeply in love… She had been standing there for a while in a bit of a daze while these thoughts ran through her head. She came to and realised that Carter was still looking at her, as was everyone else in the shop, waiting for her answer with one word in his eyes: "Please."  
  
Abby turned slightly and looked at herself in the mirror. She smoothed down the skirt, looked herself up and down one last time, and then gave a little smile at her appearance, and at the image that had just come into her mind of growing old with John Carter. She looked up and caught Carter's eyes with hers in the mirror.  
  
"Well," she said, smiling even more, "I suppose it is a lovely dress!" 


	4. Can't think of a chapter title!

Part 4  
  
Carter stared at her, not trusting himself to believe what he had just heard. The happiness was rising up inside him at such a rate that it was in danger of engulfing him. He took a step towards her, trying unsuccessfully to keep the emotion out of his voice:  
  
"Is that a 'yes'?"  
  
"That's a 'Hell Yes!'" she cried, jumping into his arms. He held her tight and gave a laugh of relief before setting her down and kissing her tenderly on the lips. They were both totally lost in the moment until they became aware of the applause of the other people in the store. Carter blushed as he pulled back from the kiss, looking over his shoulder at the strangers who had witnessed the most important moment in his life. Abby buried her face against his shoulder and started to laugh. She tried not to but she couldn't help it, and Carter soon joined in. It was exactly the same as it had been at his Grandfather's funeral: the suppressed giggles, the shared laughter, the knowledge that the person in his arms was always going to be there for him when he needed her and vice-versa. He pulled away from her and looked down into her face, pushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear with his left hand.  
  
"Shall we get going then, Mrs Carter?" The laughter was still in his voice as he leaned in to whisper conspiratorially in her ear.  
  
"OK, Mr Carter! Just give me a minute to get changed out of this dress and then we can be on our way."  
  
"Oh no you don't," he said, keeping hold of her hand as he dragged her towards the cash desk. "Keep it on, you'll be needing it in a little while anyway!" He handed his Credit Card to the sales woman who had originally served them and whom Abby couldn't help but notice was being an awful lot more nice to them now than she had been when they had first walked into the shop. God, this was just like that scene in Pretty Woman! She'd have to remember to tell John that when they left, but his raised eyebrows as the woman handed him his receipt and offered to pack Abby's old clothes told her that he was thinking the same thing. The look he gave her only made her laugh harder, so to silence her he gave her another deep kiss. Neither of them could believe this was really happening.  
  
"Come on!" He practically snatched the bag out of the shop-woman's hands and pulled Abby towards the doors. He sounds like an excited schoolboy, she thought as they practically ran out the door. Glancing at the clock it said 11.30, only half an hour since he had dragged her in there in the same way to get her to try the dress on in the first place.  
  
She was still laughing at this as they walked through the door of the jewellery shop… 


	5. Sitting

Part 5  
  
Five hours later Carter and Abby were sitting holding hands on their bench by the riverfront, gazing out on the Chicago skyline, identical bands of white gold gleaming on their ring fingers.  
  
Carter brought her hand up to his lips and kissed the ring then looked up to give her a smile and saw her smiling back at him. He had done this several times since the ceremony and she didn't think she was ever going to be tired of it. They simultaneously moved their faces closer together and shared a soft kiss, before settling back into their previous position: Abby nestled into the hollow of Carter's shoulder, Carter's arm protectively around Abby's shoulder. Abby was the first to break the silence.  
  
"I can't believe we just did that." She spoke dreamily, as if she didn't want to speak too loudly in case they were brought back to reality. There was a pause before Carter replied.  
  
"You're not sorry, are you?"  
  
"No…I just never thought you'd be the type to drag a couple of complete strangers off the street to be witnesses for your marriage. I always thought you'd have some sort of big society affair with the mayor as guest of honour or something."  
  
"Well, technically the Mayor was there if you think about it, and I wouldn't call Jeremy and Natasha strangers. Jem and I had quite a nice chat while he was processing the license for me and Natasha did say you were her OB nurse a couple of years back."  
  
She smiled at this. He was still the same, the same semi-serious tone he always had. She didn't know if she had expected him to change towards her automatically the second they became man and wife, but she was relieved all the same that he hadn't. They were quiet again. This time it was Carter who broke the silence.  
  
"I wish I didn't have to work tonight."  
  
"Me too."  
  
"I know this sounds selfish, but I wish you were working too. It wouldn't feel so bad working on my wedding night if my wife were there as well!"  
  
"I know what you mean. What time are you on, again?"  
  
"Seven. Only another two hours to spend with my beautiful new wife! I'll try not to wake you when I get home."  
  
"I'll be awake."  
  
He smiled at her thoughtfulness, then he positively grinned as the thought struck him. He turned his face towards her to see if she had noticed.  
  
"Did you hear what I just said? 'I'll be home.' I guess we never really thought about the whole 'living together' part of being married! It sounds right, don't you think?"  
  
She smiled back at him. "I like the sound of it. I always thought it was weird when we talked about your apartment and my apartment when most of your stiff is at my place anyway. 'Our place…'"  
  
"'The Carter Residence…'"  
  
"'Mr and Mrs Carter…'"  
  
They kissed again, a slow, penetrating kiss that thrilled them both. Reluctantly they rose from the bench. Carter had to get ready for work, and Abby would have to change out of her new dress into something that would be more appropriate for wandering the streets of Chicago. As they walked away Carter thought about the last words she had said, and the prospect of spending the rest of his life with the woman he loved beside him. He gave her shoulder a squeeze with the arm he had draped around her, pulling her closer towards him.  
  
"It sounds right." 


	6. Going to Work

Part 6  
  
Abby was lying on top of her bed, looking at her wedding dress that was hung up on the door of her wardrobe and reflecting on the day. To think that this morning she had gone out just to buy a dress for her ex's wedding reception and she had come back married!  
  
Carter was in the shower getting ready to go to work. Abby wasn't on that night so they had arranged for her to meet him over at Docs. She was just running through the sort of surprise she would have waiting for John when he came home in the morning that she didn't hear the phone ring at first! However, the incessant ringing soon dragged her away from the fantasy of John's fingers caressing her neck as she cooked him a romantic breakfast, and she inwardly groaned before she picked the receiver up. She didn't know how it was possible, but she'd swear that the phone sounded different when Kerry Weaver phoned. She gave a little breath, then picked up the phone.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hello, Abby? It's Kerry here. Listen, I know that you've got the week off and I told you I didn't want to see your face around here until you'd used up all of your leave, but the truth is we're desperate. Several of the nurses have called in sick and I don't want to go to the agencies again for a while after the last one they sent us. I'll make it up to you."  
  
"Sure, Kerry, no problem. I'll be there as soon as I can."  
  
"Thanks Abby. See you soon."  
  
*Click*  
  
Abby put the receiver down. She couldn't believe this turn of events. First it looked like she was going to spend her wedding night alone, and now she would be going to work with her husband. She opened the door to the bathroom to see John stepping out of the shower and putting a towel around his waist. She stopped to admire him for a second before shaking herself and asking him: "Are you a psychic?"  
  
"Pardon me?"  
  
"Not two hours ago you're telling me that you wished I was working tonight so that we could be together when who should phone but Kerry Weaver, asking me to come in and cover. Admit it, you arranged it all!" She walked up to him and gave him a quick kiss on the lips before being pulled into a bear hug.  
  
"I didn't arrange it!" Carter laughed, "but I won't pretend I'm not pleased. At least we'll be together now, and I'm sure we can find some way of being left alone together for half an hour somewhere along the way…" He gave her a look that was meant to be a leer, but which came out as a lopsided grin.  
  
"You have a sick mind, John Carter!" She gave him a little playful slap, and they both laughed as they walked into the bedroom and began to get ready for work. Suddenly a thought hit Abby.  
  
"What are we going to tell them at work?"  
  
"How do you mean?"  
  
"Well, do we tell them we got married? Nobody even knows we've been dating. Perhaps we should just hint that something is going between us and then when they get used to the idea we can slip in the fact that we got married, only we we'll say that we did it later and not today…"  
  
"Abby, calm down" he said as he came over to her and put his arms around her. "Personally I'd have no problems walking into that ER and standing on the admit desk to proclaim my undying love for you and to let everybody know that you've made me the luckiest man on the planet." She smiled, and he continued. "But if you're not ready I don't see any reason why we need to make a big deal out of it. You know what that place is like, hardly anything stays a secret for long, so there's no need for you to work yourself up into a state about a big awkward announcement when it will all probably come out by the end of the shift anyway. Besides, I think it could be quite fun keeping this our little secret for a while!"  
  
"You see, that's why I love you! You're such a good influence on me John Carter."  
  
"Well, what can I say to that? Besides 'I love you too'?" They shared a long deep kiss before reluctantly pulling apart and looking at the clock. It was time to go. They took the EL and walked hand in hand towards County General, only separating as they approached the ambulance bay. Carter gave her one last kiss before walking ahead of her through the double doors. In a routine they had employed regularly over the last 4 months she followed him after the space of a few minutes so as not to make anybody suspicious.  
  
As she walked through the doors she saw that he was already with a patient. She caught his eye and saw in them the same look of desire that she felt herself.  
  
Tonight was going to be a long night.  
  
  
  
(I have a lot more that I would like to write for this story, but before I go any further I want to know if it is worthwhile. I have been writing this for me, but does anybody care if I post more? Does anybody want to know how the staff find out? How the wedding reception goes? Feedback, please, but only if you can be positive or encouraging) 


	7. Getting Closer to the point...

(I'd like to start by thanking everybody for the positive feedback. I realise I've taken liberties with the characters' "impulsiveness". This IS wish-fulfilment on my part, but don't we all just wish they'd shut up and get on with it anyway? Hope that you like this instalment, and I promise you that I will get Carter and Abby to the reception eventually.)  
  
  
  
Part 7  
  
"Abby, did you get those blood tests on the guy in 4?"  
  
Abby swung around to see Susan Lewis flicking through a chart at the nurses station. She hadn't looked up as she spoke so Abby hoped that she had not noticed her twisting the ring on her finger and secretly smiling to herself, something she had caught herself doing quite a few times in the last couple of hours. Luckily they were fairly busy so she didn't think that anybody really noticed that she was in a dream world.  
  
"Ah, no, the labs pretty backed up at the moment. Want me to chase them up for you?"  
  
"No, don't worry, I'll get them myself. The patient just added another symptom to his ever increasing list so I'm not expecting it to be anything serious. If you could just check his name against the 'Turkey File' I bet we'll find something in there that can help with the diagnosis!"  
  
"Sure thing," said Abby, reaching under the desk to pull out a giant black ring binder bulging with loose bits of paper. "I bet that cute new lab technician has nothing to do with your eagerness to check up on a turkey…" she added slyly.  
  
"I don't know what you're implying!" Susan laughed over her shoulder as she walked away.  
  
Abby smiled after her. She and Susan had become quite good friends since that day at the sexual harassment seminar in March. They would go for Coffee sometimes when they were on together, and most of the time they worked up the same patients. Abby hadn't wanted to admit that she had been the one to hold back from the older woman's overtures of friendship because she was jealous, but it couldn't be denied that since Susan and John had split up their friendship had blossomed.  
  
Abby was busting to tell somebody about the marriage, and Susan was the nearest thing to a girl-friend she had, but she didn't know if Susan would be hurt that she hadn't told her anything about her relationship with John, or even if Susan still harboured feelings for him herself. That would definitely put a strain on the friendship. She'd have to talk about it with John later; she still hadn't had a chance to talk to him yet as the ER was so busy. Every time she saw him walking towards her, a huge smile on his face, Dr Weaver would come along and drag him into an incoming trauma, leaving her sighing in frustration as she was assigned to a different case.  
  
"Oooh, girl, what is that thing on your finger?" Haleh came up behind Abby and grabbed hold of her left hand as she was turning pages in the Turkey file.  
  
"What, you mean this ring? Ah…I found it in a store today and bought it. It was an impulse buy. You like it?" Abby was slightly flustered by the attack, but she hoped she covered it well enough. Haleh was not to be put off by this, though, and continued to probe further.  
  
"Then how come you're wearing it on your wedding finger? You get engaged or something?"  
  
"No, no, nothing like that. This was just the only finger it fit comfortably on, and as soon as I saw it I fell in love with it and knew it was the one for me, so I got it." (That wasn't a lie, she HAD fallen in love with it the moment she saw it in the shop) "I didn't think there would be any harm in wearing it on this finger as I'm not going to be seeing many of these patients again so there's not any harm if they think I'm married, is there?" Haleh was giving her a look that said she wasn't taking a word of it. God, Abby thought, why can't I stop talking?  
  
"Come on, spill it, you've got a man that you're not telling us about haven't you?"  
  
"No, I haven't!"  
  
"It's OK, I understand, you don't want Dr Carter or Dr Kovac to find out about it in case they get all funny again. The trouble you have with the two of them I'm not surprised. I'm glad you've found yourself somebody else 'cause they were just driving you and everybody else in this place crazy. Don't you worry now," she added, patting Abby's hand, "I won't breathe a word to a soul. Just you make sure I get an invitation to the wedding!"  
  
Saying this she walked away. Abby hadn't been able to get a word in edgewise. She laughed at the absurdity of Haleh's assumptions, and at the fact that she and Carter had obviously been more successful than they'd thought in hiding their relationship from the hospital gossips if Haleh hadn't automatically assumed he was the man in her life.  
  
(Inexact amount of time later)  
  
"Hey, Abby, you busy?"  
  
His head popped round the corner of the suture room where Abby was helping Gallant stitch up a little girl with a head-lac who had fallen out of her bunkbed.  
  
"Um, no," she looked over at Gallant who gave her a slight nod to show he had finished. "All done here. What did you want?"  
  
"I'm on a break and wondered if you wanted to join me for a cup of coffee?"  
  
She wondered why he was being so formal, then realised that it was probably because there was somebody else in the room. She gave him a bright smile.  
  
"Sure, meet you in the Lounge in 5 minutes?"  
  
"Great." Carter turned away and walked towards the Lounge. She wondered what sort of little rendezvous he had arranged. They only had a few hours left before they could go home and enjoy their honeymoon, but this would be their first real time together since the shift had started. She ripped off her gloves and almost ran to the Lounge, a huge smile on her face as she prepared to throw herself into Carter's waiting arms. She was not prepared for what awaited her, and to say it was a shock was an understatement…  
  
"SURPRISE!"  
  
  
  
(Contrived, I know. I had most of this Chapter written already so I've just rushed it out. I apologise in advance for any inaccuracies. I may change this later to add a healthy amount of Luka-bashing, but I could see the story going on forever if I did! I think everything will come out in the next Chapter, which you can expect some time next week.) 


	8. Close Call!

(OK, I have work in the morning so I have to catch a train really early, but I can't sleep so I thought I'd rush out another instalment of my story. If there are any inconsistencies just put it down to my insomnia, and I promise I will go back over the chapter and edit it later!)  
  
  
  
1 Part 8  
  
Abby bounded into the lounge and found herself surrounded by the ER doctors and nurses who jumped out at her from nowhere. She was so overwhelmed that the room seemed to be spinning, and amidst all the confusion of people coming up and hugging her or slapping her on the back she barely had time to register the cake on the table or the banner strung across the windows that said "Congratulations". She saw John leaning against his locker with his arms crossed against his chest and an amused look on his face.  
  
"What's going on here?"  
  
She had addressed the question to the room in general, but it was Carter who answered.  
  
"Well, it seems congratulations are in order. Haleh informs us that you've gotten yourself engaged and didn't think to tell any of your friends here in the ER…"  
  
"I didn't…that is I'm not…I mean…where did all this come from?"  
  
"Oh, you can blame me for that." Lydia raised her hand.  
  
"Yeah, Lydia is an expert at organising parties at the last minute," Chuni came up beside Abby as she spoke. "Haleh told us about the ring so we thought a little celebration was in order!"  
  
"I see," she continued to look around her in bewilderment until her eyes again settled on Carter. "And your role in all this was…?"  
  
"Who, me? I was just told to get you to come into the lounge!" He looked like he was enjoying all this immensely.  
  
"So come on, spill it," said Chuni, "who's the guy and when are we going to meet him?"  
  
"But I keep trying to tell you…"  
  
At that moment the door to the lounge burst open and Kerry Weaver burst in. "Excuse me for interrupting but we've got work to do here people! The board is full and we've got an MVA pulling up in 2 minutes. I want to see everybody standing by a patient looking concerned, now!" She started to turn away, then seemed to remember something and turned. "Oh, and congratulations Abby." She then turned and left.  
  
The room released a collective groan and everybody gradually began to filter out the door and towards the waiting patients. Soon Abby and Carter were left alone in the lounge. She crossed her arms and glared at him as she tried to speak in a tone that would imply she was mad at him:  
  
"You're enjoying this, aren't you! How come everybody's picked up on me but nobody's said a word about you and your ring?"  
  
"Is it my fault you're looking so beautiful and radiant? And besides, I'd be flattered if I were you. I've obviously become such a fixture around here that I'm taken for granted and nobody even bothers to notice me anymore!"  
  
He made a little pouty face as he said this last part and she couldn't help but laugh with him. It was no good: she couldn't stay mad at him for very long, even pretend mad! She walked into Carter's waiting arms and wrapped her arms around his neck, eagerly returning his kiss.  
  
They weren't sure how long they had remained there pressed against the lockers with their arms wrapped around each other. Their kisses had been frenzied and passionate, revealing all their frustration at being divided for the past six hours. As her fingers began to move through Carter's hair he slid his hands to her shoulders and began to pull down her scrub top.  
  
"What if somebody comes in?" Abby managed to whisper breathlessly as Carter began to trail kisses down her neck.  
  
"Then we'll just have to tell them the truth. That the fact you're a married woman still means you can't keep your hands off of me!"  
  
She laughed quietly and pulled his tie to bring him closer to her for a kiss. She had just started to unbutton his shirt when they heard the sound of the handle to the lounge being turned. They looked at each other in a slight panic and began to hastily rearrange their clothing. The handle remained pressed held down but the mysterious intruder did not enter. They could hear voices, indistinct, a question being asked and answered, one the voice of a woman and one of a man. They didn't stop to ask questions as to who was talking, about what, and why. Carter and Abby took advantage of this slight delay to make themselves appear relatively normal, so that by the time Luka entered the room to put his bag into his locker he saw nothing out of the ordinary. Carter was "asleep" on the couch with his arm covering his eyes and Abby was sitting at the table flicking absently through a magazine.  
  
If he had been paying closer attention he would have noticed that Carter's breathing was rather rapid and Abby's magazine was upside-down, but he was too preoccupied by what the nurses had just told him about Abby as he had walked in.  
  
  
  
(Hope that wasn't too dire! I promise the staff will find out next time, its just that I'm enjoying spinning this out and I don't want it to end…I just hope I'm not in a minority of one in that respect! Don't worry that there will be any hint of a Luka comeback: I just thought I should include a little interaction with him so that I can put him in his place and prove to him once and for all the power of Carby! More soon if it is still wanted.) 


	9. A half-hearted attempt at Luka-bashing a...

(Hey everybody. Again, thanks for the wonderful encouragement. I am very frustrated at the moment because my computer has decided to go on strike and I'm having to make to with the crappy ones in my department which think that Windows 95 is hi-tech! This chapter is very uneven as a result, but I'm sure you'll all allow me one little slip. Please? Pretty please? Ooh, you are so good to me!)  
  
  
  
Part 9  
  
Luka looked over at Abby as he was putting his things away in his locker and pulled out his lab coat. Abby shifted under the intensity of his gaze and glanced up nervously, but quickly looked down again when she caught his eye. 'Oh my God!' she thought, 'he's going to come over here now and want to know what's going on with the cake. What am I supposed to tell him? Act calm, Abby, act calm, maybe he'll just go away and you and John can get back to where you were before he came in.'  
  
Unfortunately Luka was not as complying as Abby would have hoped. He closed the door to his locker and walked slowly over towards Abby, taking a seat opposite her at the table. He fidgeted for a few moments and shifted in his seat as he looked around at the impromptu decorations in the lounge; Abby was sure that he was going to say something. The question was when? Eventually Luka cleared his throat, and with his chin buried as low into his chest as to could possibly go without cutting off his windpipe he broached the subject that was foremost in his mind:  
  
"So you're engaged."  
  
"Not exactly…"  
  
"But you are wearing a ring on your finger. I can see that." She quickly folded her arms over her chest so that her hands were hidden from his sight. He laughed softly. "Why did you not tell me about this other man before? It cannot be serious or you would have introduced him to your friends a long time ago." He reached over and took her hands in his. "Is this because you would like myself and Carter to be jealous?"  
  
At hearing this Carter let out a laugh, but quickly remembered that he was supposed to be asleep so he coughed and turned onto his side so that his back was now turned to Abby and Luka. Luka looked over at Carter but appeared unconcerned and turned his attention back to Abby. Abby, on the other hand, was feeling very uncomfortable. In fact, she wanted out of this situation as soon as possible.  
  
"Listen Luka…"  
  
"Because it's working."  
  
Abby could see Carter tense up at this remark, and she wasn't exactly relaxed herself. After a short pause she managed to find her tongue enough to stumble out a few words: "…Excuse me?"  
  
"It's working. I'm extremely jealous. I was a fool to let you go but I thought you wanted to be with Carter. Now that I see you have moved on with somebody else I realise that I was just being paranoid, and I would like to give us another chance."  
  
Just as Abby was about to reply the door to the lounge opened and Gallant came in looking for Carter to sign off on a patient. Carter pretended to be in a bad mood at being woken up, but it wasn't difficult as he was not exactly happy that Luka was making a move on his wife. As he followed Gallant out the room he shot a look at Abby that told her to get rid of Luka as soon as possible so they could go home. After the door closed behind him Abby tried to regroup her thoughts and stop Luka from making an even greater fool of himself.  
  
"I'm sorry, Luka, but it's like you said. I'm with somebody else now."  
  
"But it's only an engagement. You can call it off, say you've realised you made a mistake. We could…"  
  
"LUKA I'M MARRIED!" She clapped her hand over her mouth as soon as she'd said the words. She hadn't wanted to tell him like that, but she had to stop him from making his declarations of love. It was just too embarrassing to hear him carry on like that. He appeared shocked for a few seconds, but he quickly regrouped.  
  
"Married?" he asked gently.  
  
Abby still had her hand over her mouth so she simply nodded.  
  
"When did that happen?"  
  
"This morning. It was sort of a spur of the moment type thing." She laughed slightly at the memory of how excited she and John were as they ran down the stairs of City Hall after they had been married.  
  
"Do I know him?"  
  
She thought about this for a second before replying. "Not exactly. You think you know him but you don't know him at all. Not really."  
  
Luka nodded as he took this in. He looked deep into here eyes before asking her, "Is it Carter?"  
  
"…Yes. How did you know? Please don't say anything." She didn't know why she'd added that. She knew Luka would never spread anybody's personal life.  
  
"I pretty much guessed when I saw the look he gave me as he left the room. I didn't think he was really asleep. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable, but I had to know for sure. I meant what I said, though; I was a fool to let you go."  
  
"Yeah, you were," said Abby, trying to lighten the mood, "but everything's turned out for the best."  
  
Luka did not laugh. In fact, his face became suddenly serious. "Do you love him?"  
  
"More than anything. We've been together about four months but there's been a connection between us for a lot longer. It feels like I've known him forever. I can see myself happy with him."  
  
"And does he love you?"  
  
Abby laughed again. "I certainly hope so!"  
  
"I do too, for your sake," Luka was still unsmiling and serious. As he rose from his chair and walked towards the door of the lounge he added, "I don't think he deserves you, but I hope he proves me wrong. And don't worry, I won't say anything."  
  
Luka then walked out of the lounge to start his shift. On his way out he bumped into Carter who was just about to enter. He put his hand on the younger man's shoulder and said, "Have a good night, Carter." He then turned to give Abby a brief smile before leaving the room and walking towards the admit desk. Carter walked over and kissed the top of her head before sitting down next to her.  
  
"What was that all about?"  
  
Abby sighed before getting up and going over to her locker. "I don't think I can take any more of this. Are you off?"  
  
"Yeah, in about 5 minutes."  
  
"Well I'm done now. I can't stand it here anymore, not with all these people looking at me and speculating. I'm going to sign out now and I'll meet you at home. Hopefully I'll be in more of a honeymoon mood after a long shower."  
  
She flashed him a brief smile and blew him a kiss before opening the door and walking towards the admit desk to sign herself out. As she was walking towards the exit she heard Carter's voice calling out to her. He was coming out of the lounge with one arm put through the sleeve of his coat and he was just shrugging his other arm into the other sleeve.  
  
"Hang on, Abby, I'll walk with you. I just have to drop some charts off."  
  
Abby paused beside the double doors and waited for Carter to catch her up. The shift had been a real strain on her, and her little talk with Luka was just the icing on the cake. The idea of a secret relationship may have been fun at first but she didn't think she could cope with the constant looks and sly remarks of her colleagues. Thank goodness she and John now had the weekend off. Granted they would have to spend part of it at her ex- husband's wedding, but at least they could be together and open to everybody about their marriage. She just had to get away from this place first…which was probably never going to happen at the rate Carter was going! She could see that instead of signing off on charts he was listening to the nurses gossip, and she could tell it was about her because a few looks were pointed in her direction. This was almost more than she could bear so she yelled out to Carter in her frustration:  
  
"CARTER! Are you coming or not? I've got better things to do than hang around here waiting for you all night!"  
  
He snapped back to attention, signed the last of his charts, and called out to her that he was coming. He was just about to put the charts down and walk out when he again heard part of the conversation taking place at the admit desk:  
  
"HmHm, I'll bet she has better things to do tonight!"  
  
"You don't think its anything too kinky do you? 'Cause there was that time she got carried away with that dominatrix' bag and there are still a couple of items missing last I heard!"  
  
"I don't think so. The poor man would probably be too scared to try anything like that with her in the mood she's in at the moment. I mean, look at the way she just yelled at Carter. She'd be a nightmare to live with, I'm telling you…"  
  
At that point Carter had heard enough. It was fun pulling the wool over people's eyes up to a point, but when they started to judge Abby like this, putting all of the pressure of the secret onto her and none on him, he knew that he had to put a stop to the speculation. He slammed the files down hard onto the admit desk in front of Jerry, stopping the conversation immediately and bringing everybody's attention towards him.  
  
"Jerry, can you make sure these charts get filed as soon as possible and get Susan to check up on Mrs Jenkins in Exam 4 in about half an hour. I'm off for the weekend so I hope when I come back you'll have rediscovered the work ethic and I won't have to listen to you gossiping like an old woman!"  
  
Carter had left his hands on the top of the files as he had put the charts in front of Jerry and he smiled to see that his little ploy had worked. He had no idea whether anybody had heard a word he'd said, but he could see that as he was talking everybody's eyes had been drawn to the simple band on his ring finger that was identical to the one being worn by Abby. They all lifted their heads up slowly and stared at him with their mouths wide open. He knew that their brains were working overtime but nobody seemed able to speak. Carter gave them a huge smile and held up his left hand in a wave that enabled them to see the ring in all its glory:  
  
"Bye guys. See you Monday!"  
  
With that he turned and headed towards the double doors where Abby stood waiting for him. She had a questioning look on her face, not quite sure of what had just happened or why Carter had such a big smile on his face. She was about to ask him what was going on when he bent down and gave her a spine-melting kiss in front of everybody, lifting her off her feet so that she had to throw her arms around his neck to keep from falling over. When he had finished he placed her slowly back onto her feet, and a quick look told him that the staff at the admit desk were still staring after them open-mouthed. Abby looked into Carter's smiling eyes and asked:  
  
"What was that all about?"  
  
"I'll tell you on the way home. I'll tell you one thing, though, it's going to be fun here on Monday!"  
  
Saying this he put his arm around Abby's shoulder and they turned to walk out of the ER together. Without turning to look at the stunned expressions of their colleagues Carter raised his left hand in a wave as he and Abby passed out of the doors and into the ambulance bay. It was after 2 in the morning and the night was chilly, so they huddled closer together as they headed towards the EL and each thought of what remained of their wedding night…  
  
(Two Minutes Later, Inside County General)  
  
"Jerry, has Dr Carter left yet? I wanted to ask him if would stay on for the rest of the shift instead of doing a half…Jerry? Have you heard a single word I said? And why is nobody answering that damn phone?!"  
  
Kerry was just about to demonstrate the dangers of ignoring her to Jerry when she realised that he was not the only one that seemed to have been temporarily paralysed. Lydia, Haleh, Malik and Susan were also staring towards the ambulance bay with identical looks of incomprehension and disbelief on their faces. Kerry tried waving her hand in front of their eyes and snapping her fingers but that didn't seem to have much effect. She was beginning to worry and was about to call in a psyche-consult when the group appeared to move a little. Malik was the first to shake himself out of his trance, and with characteristic understatement managed to sum up the feelings of everybody who had witnessed both Carter's little outburst and the subsequent kiss he gave Abby…  
  
"……Huh?……"  
  
  
  
(That's it. Hope it wasn't as bad as I feel it is and that you enjoyed it. Expect the next part some time within the next week unless I get writer's block.) 


	10. Getting ready

(Here's the next part. A little rushed, nothing much happens, but I think I like those chapters more. Less work for me to do!)  
  
  
  
Part 10  
  
Carter awoke early in the afternoon and stretched out contentedly, only to realise that he was alone in the double bed. He sat up groggily and allowed his eyes to gradually adjust to the light coming in through the curtains. He called out for Abby but received no reply. He looked about him sleepily to see if there was any evidence of her departure but the room appeared to be in the same state they left it early that morning. Their clothes were still strewn across the floor giving proof of the rush they had been in to commence their honeymoon, and she had not rearranged the tangled bedclothes from about him as she usually did if she left the apartment before him. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and groaned as he stood up, swaying slightly from the sudden rush of blood to his feet, then put on a pair of boxers and started to head out of the bedroom. "Abby, honey, where are you?"  
  
He closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose in an attempt to remove the last vestiges of sleep and walked into the sitting room to be confronted by a vision: Abby was sitting on the couch with her feet up on the coffee table painting her toenails. The curlers in her hair and bright blue facemask only contributed to the image of domesticity! Carter stood and looked at her for a moment, marvelling at the fact that, if it were possible, he loved her even more at this moment than he had yesterday. She seemed totally oblivious to his presence, humming a little tune to herself as she set down the bottle of nail polish and sat back to wait for her nails to dry. He crept up behind her and covered her eyes with his hands: "Guess who?"  
  
"Um, Luka? Listen, you'd better hurry before my husband wakes up. He can get very jealous!"  
  
"Not funny!" Carter took his hands away from her eyes and jumped over the top of the couch. He dropped into the seat beside her and pulled her into a hug with her back against his chest and his arms wrapped around her front. He kissed the top of her head and breathed in the scent of her newly washed hair. "Good Morning Mrs Carter!"  
  
She turned slightly so that she could get a proper look at him. "Good 'Afternoon' Mr Carter!" she smiled. She turned her neck to look at him and smiled. She was just about to reach up and kiss him when she realised that she still had her rollers in and the mask on her face. She pulled back suddenly and let out a little squeal before jumping up and running to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her! Carter looked after her in bemusement before getting up and following her to the bathroom. He tried the handle but found it locked, so he had to raise his voice to be heard through the door over the sound of the running tap.  
  
"Abby what's the matter?"  
  
"Nothing!"  
  
"No, something's up. Just tell me what it is."  
  
"It's nothing. It's just…I didn't want you to see me like this!"  
  
He was a little caught out by this remark. "Like what?"  
  
She opened the door and peered around it. She had washed the facemask off but traces of the blue still remained, and she had only managed to pull out half the curlers so her hair was a curious mixture of tight curls and bright plastic rollers. " 'Like what'? Like the creature from the Black Lagoon! I got up early so I could get all of this out the way before you woke up."  
  
"So is this like a regular thing for you to do?"  
  
She looked down and blushed slightly. "I normally do this when you're out. You know, when you have to go back to your apartment or if you're on shift but I'm off."  
  
"But if we're going to be living together now you shouldn't have to sneak around me!"  
  
"I know…but I was embarrassed! I was afraid you'd take one look at me like this and decide that all the magic had gone out of our relationship and that you didn't want to hang around with the reality of dull, boring, blue- faced old me…"  
  
John leaned his head against the doorjamb and gave a slight smile as he reached out and played with a loose curl and tucked it behind Abby's ear. He cupped her cheek with his hand and looked deep into her eyes: "Abby, you have never looked more beautiful to me than you do at this moment."  
  
She laughed out loud and looked up into his face. "Now I know you're lying, John Carter!"  
  
"I'm not. Do you have any idea what my experience with women has been like? (What am I talking about, of course you know.) Its just been one long line of blondes who never took the time to get to know the real me and never let me know anything about themselves. It's different with you, though. You know the worst things I'm capable of but you're still here with me, and you're not afraid to admit to me that you're weak sometimes as well. I love you, every part of you, even the not-so-perfect things that you don't want me to see. And no mater what you say," she tried to interrupt him at this point but he put his finger over her mouth in a 'ssh' gesture and gave her a light kiss on the mouth before continuing, "no matter what you say I will always love this honesty. I've had precious little of it in my life and I promise you I will never get tired of it. So if you want to paint your face blue, or green, or yellow I don't care, so long as you promise to you stay you…and get the rest of those things out of your hair because you look like a gorgon!"  
  
She gave him a playful slap before throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him. He put his arms around her and returned the kiss, but when he moved to deepen it she pushed him away lightly. He grunted a protest and continued to plant soft kisses along her jawline and down her neck. She was almost seduced by his slow movements and gentle caresses, but just as he was slipping the gown she was wearing off her shoulders she turned her neck to give him better access and caught a glimpse of the clock on the VCR. She immediately snapped back to reality and attempted to get Carter to do the same, but it was difficult when she could only manage to slip a few words in between kisses:  
  
"John we've got to…John, stop it…It's nearly time…STOP IT!"  
  
"Ow, what did you do that for?!"  
  
She had given him a little pinch on the arm, not hard, but she knew he was going to play this for sympathy.  
  
"We've only got 90 minutes to get ready and get to the reception. I've got to do my hair and get dressed, and you've got to have a shower and shave." She started to push him towards the shower when he stopped and turned to look at her. He pouted and put on the voice of an injured child, rubbing the top of his arm where she had pinched him.  
  
"You're mean!"  
  
"Oh don't be such a baby. Come here, I'll kiss it better…and if you're a good boy I'll let you play with the other boys and girls at the reception!"  
  
"I'd rather play with you…" Carter stopped and thought about what he had just said. He could see Abby was trying not to laugh. "That didn't come out the way I meant it to…"  
  
That was too much for Abby. She burst into laughter at the sight of Carter's face as he tried to explain what he meant, and continued to push him into the shower. "It's no good, we just don't have the time. You have your shower, I'll go do my hair and maybe, just maybe," she stood on her toes and gave him a peck on the end of his nose, "I'll let you 'play with me' after we get through the reception!"  
  
She turned and walked out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. She pulled the last of the curlers out of her hair and arranged the curls in a tumbling cascade down her back, with a few loose curls to frame her face. She then slipped into the dress that was hanging on the back of the door, her wedding dress from yesterday, and went into the kitchen to sit down at the table and apply her make-up.  
  
In the meanwhile Carter had emerged from the bathroom clean-shaven and dressed himself in his new black Armani suit (Abby had insisted he wear it because she knew Richard would be green), and he came out from the bedroom to find Abby standing in the middle of the room waiting for him. As had happened in the dress shop yesterday he was completely floored by how beautiful she was. She simply took his breath away. He walked over to her slowly and put his hands on her shoulders. "I will always love you in this dress," he whispered before leaning down to give her a gentle kiss. They shared a smile, and he then turned to give her his arm.  
  
"Well, shall we get going to that reception then?"  
  
  
  
(Well, what did you think? Lots of Carby which I like to think is a good thing. Until next time, when we will get to see the wedding reception and make Richard squirm!) 


	11. The Reception: There's one in every fami...

(Its taking me slightly longer to write this section than I hoped, but unfortunately real life has got in the way. Instead of having one long scene for the wedding I have decided to break it up into little chunks so that you can have something to look forward to. Thanks for the positive reviews and, as ever, I hope I don't disappoint you.)  
  
  
  
Part 11  
  
Carter and Abby entered the lobby of the hotel and asked the desk clerk for directions to the Lockhart-McBride nuptials. They were directed to the "Grand Banqueting Hall" which occupied most of the lower floor of the hotel, and which they could see as they approached was decorated within an inch of its life with flowers and swathes of gold cloth.  
  
"This is so typical of Richard," she whispered to John who was looking about him unimpressed. "He cries poor for most of our marriage and then he goes and pulls something like this. Nice to know my alimony is being put to good use!"  
  
"Whoa, you're not bitter at all! I only hope I never get on your wrong side!"  
  
She appreciated his attempt to lighten the situation and calm her down so she gave a little laugh and turned to give him a dazzling smile when she caught sight of something over his shoulder and her face promptly fell.  
  
"Oh God! Quick hide me before she sees me!" Abby ducked her head down and turned slightly in an attempt to hide herself. John turned his head to see what she was trying to avoid but she put her hand out to stop him. "NO! Don't look around, she might come over!"  
  
"Who might…?"  
  
"Abigail? ABIGAIL!" A loud voice shouted across the room and Carter turned to see a rather large woman who was waving furiously trying to get Abby's attention.  
  
"Too late!" Abby said through her teeth as she forced a smile and gave a small wave back to the woman, who then proceeded to walk towards them and arrived within seconds. "Martha, good to see you."  
  
"Abigail, my dear, you look simply marvellous!" The woman said. "I haven't seen you in years. How have you been?"  
  
"Oh, you know, same old-same old!" Abby laughed nervously and looked around her desperately, trying to think of a way to get away from this person who she clearly did not want to speak to. "How about you?"  
  
"How lovely of you to ask! I was hoping to run into you today because I've had such terrible problems with my feet lately, and I know that you'll be able to give me your medical opinion as a nurse and almost-doctor. And while we're at it I've been experiencing this constant pain in my stomach whenever I eat…"  
  
"You mean you actually stopped eating long enough to experience pain?" Abby muttered under her breath. The woman had carried on talking, totally oblivious to what Abby had said, but John heard her and gave a small chuckle. The woman immediately stopped talking and for the first time noticed his presence, switching her attention from Abby to him.  
  
"Well, you don't really want to know about me," she said. "Why don't you introduce me to your handsome young friend over here?"  
  
Abby looked as though she'd much rather not, but the woman was looking John up and down with an appreciative eye, and he looked rather eager to be introduced. Truth be told he wanted to know who it was that Abby was so reluctant to meet.  
  
"I'm sorry," said Abby, "where are my manners? John, this is Martha Bridgeport, Richard's aunt. Martha, this is my husband, John."  
  
"It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs Bridgeport." John reached out his hand and shook the hand that she offered. On hearing Abby refer to him as her husband a grin had spread across his face and it looked like it was going to stay there for some time. He liked the way it sounded.  
  
"Oh please, call me Martha. Abby, you dark horse, you never said anything about being married."  
  
"Its not exactly like I've been on speaking terms with the family since the divorce. I rather got the impression that if you didn't hear from me again it would be too soon."  
  
"Oh what nonsense. Besides, who wouldn't want to keep in contact with a doctor in the family? It saves all that time waiting at hospitals if you can get the advice for free! Speaking of which, I really would like for you to take a look at my feet…"  
  
"Oh look, there's cousin Rachel," Abby interrupted, pretending to see somebody in the crowd behind Mrs Bridgeport. "I really have to go over and say hello, see how her exams went. I'll try to find you later, Martha, and you can tell me all about it."  
  
With that she grabbed hold of Carter's hand and dragged him away towards another corner of the room. He looked behind him to see Richard's aunt moving away to another group of relatives, as if she was used to these rapid departures, and he looked back at Abby in amusement and confusion. As soon as they came to a halt he started to laugh and asked Abby breathlessly, "What was all that about?"  
  
"That was Richard's great-aunt Martha, the biggest hypochondriac in the world. Every time I see her she has a new list of complaints for me to examine and diagnose. One time she insisted I take a close look at the boil she could feel growing on her backside. It wasn't a pleasant experience, I can tell you. And you can stop laughing," she added, giving Carter a slap on the shoulder, "all I have to do is go back and tell her you're a doctor and my problems are solved!"  
  
"OK, ok, I'll be serious. It's just that you look so cute when you're annoyed. Your forehead gets this little wrinkle just above your nose and your nose scrunches up. It's just so adorable!" She tried to make an angry pout at him but she was suddenly self-conscious and burst into laughter along with him. They started to inch closer together for a kiss when a round of applause from the other side of the room made them both look up. Standing in the doorway were Richard and his new wife, Cathy, who was looking slightly uncomfortable with the surroundings whilst Richard was smiling his usual smarmy smile that his thought was charming. They started to mingle and greet their guests, but for a split second Abby caught Richard's eye and she saw him do a double-take. He whispered something to his new wife and they started to make their way over to where Carter and Abby stood.  
  
  
  
(That's it for now. I'm almost finished on the next couple of parts but I don't know when I'll be able to get near a computer to post them. Keep your eyes peeled! Oh, and I'm a bit worried that I may have made Abby a little bitchy in this chapter, but we all know what its like to be attacked by an unwelcome relative at a party, don't we?) 


	12. Meeting Richard+1

(Hi all! Thanks for being so patient. As you see I have my new computer. Yippee! The only problem is that this has Windows XP and I've not quite got the hang of it yet…Idiot-proof my behind! Anyway, on with the story…)  
  
  
  
Part 12  
  
Abby squared her shoulders and took a deep breath as Richard and his new wife approached them. Carter felt her tense up so he tightened his grip around her waist reassuringly. She relaxed against his shoulder and smiled broadly at Richard, who had just arrived in front of them and was still looking at her with a mixture of admiration and disbelief.  
  
"Abby, you look fantastic! What happened?"  
  
"Why thank you Richard," she said dryly, "trust you to make a girl feel special."  
  
"You know what I mean. I didn't think you'd really make that much of an effort, seeing as you didn't bother when we were together. I thought the best I was likely to get out of you was that old bridesmaid's dress again, and it wasn't like that ever did anything for you."  
  
Abby looked over at Cathy, who was looking a little embarrassed by the way Richard was carrying on. "Gee, what a catch you've got there. Can't think why I ever let that one slip away! Hi, I'm Abby" she stuck her hand out towards Cathy, who eagerly took hold of it and shook it energetically.  
  
"I'm Cathy. Cathy Lockhart!" She blushed as she said this last part. This was not the kind of person Abby had expected Richard to be with, but she had a feeling she was going to like Cathy.  
  
"Pleased to meet you!" Abby laughed good-naturedly at the "blushing bride" in front of her. She had never been like this with Richard, happy just to be around him, and she realised now that she had never really loved him. Not like she loved John. She thought how lucky she was that he had stuck with her and not been put off by the defences she put up around herself, how he had whisked her off her feet and married her before she had had time to make up excuses and find a reason for them not to be together. She was happier now being married to John than she had ever been in her life, and she made a promise to herself to make sure he knew as soon as they got home!  
  
"Hi, I'm Richard Lockhart." Abby had been so lost in her own thoughts that she hadn't realised that John and Richard had been smiling at each other awkwardly, waiting for somebody to start the conversation. Richard had obviously found the thought of not hearing his own voice too much to take and had held his hand out to Carter, who took it and introduced himself.  
  
"John Carter. Actually, we've already met."  
  
"We have? I don't seem to remember…"  
  
"It was at the museum benefit, about a year ago?"  
  
"That's right! You had brought Abby along and she'd worn that terrible pink bridesmaid's dress! You're a better man than I am; I would have been too embarrassed to hang around with somebody who couldn't even make the effort to buy a new dress for an important fundraiser like that. I mean, come on, a bridesmaid's dress! You know what I'm talking about, right?"  
  
John had done his best to keep from hitting Richard while he was speaking, but it was difficult. He clenched his jaw and answered tightly. "Actually, I thought Abby was looking particularly beautiful that night."  
  
"Oh, right, of course. I didn't mean anything by it. Its just it was always so difficult to get Abby in a dress I should have known she would have worn the same one twice! But you look great today, doesn't she honey?" He looked over to Cathy, who had heard so much about Abby from Richard and his family that she was desperate to get to know her, if only to prove that she wasn't as bad as they were painting her out to be.  
  
"Absolutely. You look gorgeous Abby! I wish I looked that good. I feel like such a frump in this place, like I don't belong here, but you look like you were meant to be surrounded by all this luxury!"  
  
"You're very sweet," Abby laughed, "but very wrong. I feel like a bit of a fraud myself. What made you pick this place for the reception?"  
  
"Oh, it wasn't my choice. It was all Richard. I wanted something small and intimate but apparently he needs to 'create the right impression' with his superiors at the hospital. I could have done without all this."  
  
"I know what you mean. Richard always was one for keeping up appearances. One of the reasons our marriage never worked if you ask me. I was never prepared to be the trophy wife he wanted to take along to functions. I wanted to be my own person…Oh my god!" she added, realising to who she was talking, "not that that would ever happen to you. You two look perfect together. And I hope you're very happy together. Honestly, I do."  
  
Abby reached out to place her hand on Cathy's shoulder, and the two shared a smile. Cathy reached out impulsively and gave her a hug before bursting into tears. Abby was worried that she had said something wrong and tried to say how sorry she was, but Cathy pulled away to show that she was smiling, and that the tears were actually happy tears. She shook her head vehemently, and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe her nose.  
  
"There's nothing wrong," she said as she tried to stop her tears. "It's just that Richard's mother had said so many horrible things about you that I was terrified of meeting you. And now that I've met you you're just so nice and I feel so bad about all the awful things I've thought about you. Can you forgive me?"  
  
Abby laughed outright at this and gave Cathy a hug in return. "What do I need to forgive you for? You didn't know me and besides," she whispered this last part so that nobody else would hear, "Richard's mother is Class A bitch. You promise me you'll give as good as you get!"  
  
"I promise!" Cathy beamed at her and Abby knew that despite her expectations she was going to like Richard's new wife. She continued to make conversation with Cathy, asking her about her son and her job, whilst in the background she could hear Richard and John carrying on their conversation. 


	13. Stumped for a title again!

Part 13  
  
Richard had drawn Carter to one side and was lecturing him on money and finance, telling him how much the wedding had cost and explaining how he had set the money aside. Abby was amazed at John's forbearance, she would have punched Richard long before now, but it was the last part of their conversation that really caught her attention. Richard, the man who had valued money and position above all things the entire time she had known him, for whatever reason had absolutely no idea about who John was!  
  
"So, John," Richard was saying, "you work with Abby at County. So what are you, third year, fourth year?"  
  
"I'm Chief Resident."  
  
"Chief Resident? Wow, good for you. Finally making some decent money then! I must admit I admire you for sticking with a County Hospital. Must give you a sense of moral purpose. I went over to the dark side I'm afraid: Private practice. Lots of money to be made but without the long hours and poor working conditions. You should think about making the switch. I mean, would you be able to give Abby this sort of wedding on your salary? And med- school bills to pay as well? You'll be saving forever before you're able to get any kind of decent place. Listen, if you like I can give you a couple of numbers, maybe even set up some interviews, see what you think."  
  
"Thanks, but we're doing OK by ourselves. Besides I love it at County, and to be honest I couldn't imagine working anywhere else."  
  
"Well, takes all sorts I guess! So, tell me more about you. How long have you and Abby been together?"  
  
"Four months," Carter nodded in that way he had when answering a question, "but we were friends for a long time before that. Marrying her was the best thing I ever did," he added wistfully.  
  
"Excuse me? Did you say marry?" Richard looked over at Abby and then back to Carter.  
  
  
  
"I'm sorry," Carter said, "I didn't realize that you didn't know. Abby?" He grinned at Richard's obvious distraction. He may very well be a nice person once you get to know him, and his wife certainly seemed great, but there was something about him that rubbed Carter up the wrong way. He was such an obsequious little man; how had Abby ever married him?  
  
"Yeah sweetie?" Abby walked over to Carter's side and put her arm around his waist. As she did so he put his arm around her shoulder and looked down at her. In the meanwhile Cathy had walked over to Richard's side and assumed a similar position.  
  
"Richard didn't seem to know that we were married. Were you keeping it a secret or can we officially tell everybody?"  
  
"Of course it isn't a secret!" She knew he was referring to the fact that they had tried to keep it hidden from the people at work and she laughed. "Richard, Cathy, I'd like you to meet John, my husband. John this is Richard and Cathy Lockhart!" She was enjoying herself, especially the look of disbelief on Richard's face, so she made a big show of introducing them formally.  
  
"Pleased to meet you," John said, sticking out his hand towards Richard and smiling, playing along with Abby's game.  
  
Richard took hold of the hand and shook it in a daze. He looked at Abby. "When did you get married again?"  
  
"Ooh, almost 36 hours now!" She laughed as John bent down to give her a bear hug and a kiss. She laughed all the time now that she was with Carter, something she had hardly ever done while she was with Richard. "I would have said something earlier but I didn't want you to think that I was trying to upstage you, today of all days!"  
  
"Upstage me? You come in wearing the most amazing dress in the world, looking absolutely fabulous, looking happier than I've ever seen you, and you say you weren't trying to upstage me? Sorry if I don't believe you." He was becoming irate, just as he had throughout their marriage, and Abby felt herself losing her temper as she replied.  
  
"Oh come off it, Richard! What did you think? That I was going to mope over you forever? That I was going to come here and eat my heart out because you were getting married again? Guess what, I moved on, and I'm happy. I'm in love and I'm married to the most wonderful man in the world. And I can't believe that you'd think I did it just to score a point over you. God, how petty do you think I am?! I'm sorry, Cathy, you're lovely and I really wish you the best, but you've married the biggest dick on the face of the planet. Come on John, lets get out of here." She grabbed Carter's hand and began to leave the room, but a voice from behind stopped her.  
  
"No, don't go Abby! Please stay." It was Cathy who had run after Abby and put a hand on her arm to stop her from leaving.  
  
"I know Richard can be a bit difficult at times. You were with him for a long time so you know how he can get, but he's not always like this. Sometimes he can actually be sweet." Cathy gave Richard a little smile at this, and he had the good grace to look ashamed and stare at the floor. "So I'm sure he'll apologize and we can carry on like civilized people. Won't you Richard?"  
  
Richard looked up and looked Abby directly in the eyes. "I'm sorry Abby. I shouldn't have attacked you for trying to be happy. And John, I'm sorry if I've created a bad impression. I can only imagine what Abby's told you about me and I go and prove it all by behaving like an idiot. I hope we can start over."  
  
"My pleasure." Carter took hold of the hand Richard was offering and shook it. Abby was looking at Cathy in awe! How had she managed to get Richard to apologize? He never said sorry for anything in his life! There was definitely something about her that was good for Richard, and she was glad that he had found her. Carter broke the silence:  
  
"So, I think a little drink is in order to celebrate both our good fortune! I'm going to grab a soft drink, anybody else want anything?"  
  
Richard and Cathy asked for champagne, while Abby asked him to bring her back whatever he was having. He smiled and gave her a light kiss on the lips before heading towards the bar. Abby, Cathy and Richard moved towards a nearby table and sat down to wait for John. Abby followed him with her eyes, picturing what they would get up to as soon as they were alone in their apartment again, so she didn't at first notice Richard trying to talk to her.  
  
"Abby? John seems really nice. I hope he doesn't think that I was trying to rub his nose in it. You know, force my money down his throat because I'm in private practice and he's just a county doctor…What's so funny? "  
  
Abby had laughed outright at this, at the fact that Richard hadn't been able to connect the name Carter with the name of one of Chicago's wealthiest families. She considered playing with this for a while, but the looks of bewilderment she was getting from Cathy and Richard told her that they thought she was quite mad, so she decided to tell them the whole truth.  
  
"Don't you know who John is?" she managed to choke out between gasps for breath. She had been so worried about creating a good impression that she hadn't realized how tense she was. Now that she had started laughing she just couldn't seem to stop.  
  
"Yeah you said. 'John Carter'. He works at County General with you."  
  
"And you met him at the museum benefit…" she was leading him along, trying to get him to fill in the blanks by himself, but he still looked lost so she decided to help him out a little more. "Hosted by the…"  
  
"CARTER FAMILY FOUNDATION!"  
  
Bingo! She could see the look of recognition in Richard's eyes as he registered who Carter was. He looked over to where Carter was still standing by the drinks table waiting to collect his drinks, and then straight back to Abby.  
  
"Are you saying he is one of THE Carters? He's not just A Carter."  
  
"Nope. Richard, you have spent the best part of 15 minutes talking to John Truman Carter III!"  
  
Richard suddenly looked deflated and sank down in his seat, putting his hand over his eyes in an attempt to hide his embarrassment.  
  
"Oh my God Abby," he said, "I can't believe I was talking to him about the deal I got on this reception room. Christ, I think one of them owns this hotel!"  
  
"What do you mean 'One of them'? They're not aliens! Anyway, John's coming back now and I want you to promise that you won't turn into a creep just because his family has a bit of money. Besides I'm 'One of them' now as well!"  
  
At that moment Carter arrived at the table and put the drinks down in the center. He put his arm around Abby's shoulder and gave her a lingering kiss as he sat down in the seat next to her. After a few seconds he reluctantly broke the kiss and looked into Abby's eyes. She was smiling at him so he smiled back, and the smile was still on his face as he looked around the table first at Cathy and then at Richard, who seemed momentarily lost for words.  
  
"So," Carter said, looking at Abby, "What did I miss?"  
  
  
  
(Hope that was worth the wait. The characters of Cathy and Richard are poorly sketched, but they aren't really our main concern, are they? I'm on a roll, so I may have more to add in the next day or so. My degree results come out tomorrow, so depending on how well I do it will either be a happy chapter or a depressed chapter. Let's keep our fingers crossed for a 2:1!) 


	14. Mama Lockhart

(Thanks for all the congratulations and good-wishes. I'm slowly settling into the real world after three years of the student life, which thankfully starts again in September, but to keep myself bust I intend to write lots of fuzzy chapters! Enjoy.)  
  
Part 14  
  
They stayed talking to Richard and Cathy for a while. At first much of the time was spent listening to Richard apologising to Carter for not realising who he was, but this subject was soon put to rest by Carter's self- deprecating comment that he himself was nobody.  
  
A slight yawn from Abby made Carter look at his watch and suggest that they should be heading home as it was late and they had to go to his Gamma's house in the morning for lunch. Richard and Cathy also noticed that they had been rather neglecting their other guests, some of whom looked like they were getting ready to leave, so they rose  
  
"Do you think you'll take her up on her offer?" Carter asked her as he stood behind her, pulling out her chair and holding out her wrap to put around her shoulders.  
  
"I don't know," said Abby, adjusting the wrap and then turning around to face Carter. "She seems lovely, but it would just be too weird to be friends with your ex-husband's wife." She took hold of the arm which he held out to her and they started to walk towards the doors of the room. "Too much like revisiting the scenes of past crimes. You know what I mean?"  
  
"I think I do. If things start to go wrong she'll want to know what Richard was like with you, which will stir up all sorts of problems, and if nothing goes wrong you'll only wonder why he couldn't be nicer when you were married."  
  
"That's it exactly! If he turns out to be a perfect husband I wouldn't wish I was married to him again 'cause I'd never regret marrying you, but I know I'd feel bitter because I wasted so much of my life being married to him. I could have come to County without all my emotional baggage and we could have been together ages ago. Mad mother and teenagers excepted, of course!"  
  
"Of course!" he laughed. They had reached the edge of the room by now and were about to leave, both still laughing, when they again noticed an strange woman breaking away from a group and heading their way. Abby caught her eye and quickened her step in an obvious attempt to avoid this woman, but she was unsuccessful. Just as they were about to exit the woman stepped out in front of them and looked directly at Abby. They were almost out of the room but she stepped out in front of them, seemingly intent on talking to Abby.  
  
"Abby," she said dryly, "you're looking more animated than I remember you."  
  
"Judith," replied Abby, equally cold and unenthusiastic. "Always a pleasure. How are you?"  
  
"Oh I'm the picture of health, as always. And yourself?"  
  
"Oh I'm just peachy!" said Abby with false brightness. She really didn't want to be here talking to this woman, and it didn't look as though the conversation was going to progress much beyond . However, rather than issuing them a polite good-bye and allowing them to leave 'Judith' remained silent and continued to bar their exit. After a few polite observations on the weather and the decorations were met with short, curt answers, Abby started to search around desperately for a subject of discussion…  
  
Carter, meanwhile, had been observing the two women during the exchange and noticed that they both appeared to dislike each other immensely. At first he had been struck by how much the newcomer looked like Richard's aunt who they had met earlier, only much thinner and with a decidedly sour expression. At Abby's mention of her name, however, he suddenly realised that the woman standing in front of him was Richard's mother. He had thought Abby was exaggerating when she had described her ex mother-in-law to him, but from what he had seen so far he was beginning to believe her nightmare tales! He then observed the awkward silence, and could see that Abby was beginning to shift uncomfortably under the scrutinizing glare, so he decided to help her out. He cleared his throat in a polite "excuse me" gesture which brought the gaze of both women swinging round towards him, and he gave Abby a pointed look which asked her to introduce him. She sighed with relief at the escape route he was offering and gave him a smile to say "thank-you". Still smiling and holding onto John's arm she turned back to face Mrs Lockhart.  
  
"Judith, I'd look you to meet my husband John. John, this is Judith Lockhart. Richard's mother."  
  
"Very pleased to meet you," Carter reached out and shook the hand she offered.  
  
"Oh, so you got married again. That's nice," she said, unenthusiastically. "Tell me Abby, are you going to be keeping your name? Or, rather, Richard's. I understand that's what women do nowadays."  
  
"No, Judith," said Abby, the smile still on her face through a definite force of effort. "I've decided to take John's name. Just a few forms to fill in at work and I'll be Abigail Carter."  
  
"Carter? You aren't by any chance related to Millicent Carter are you?" Judith asked Carter, a slight note of interest creeping into the supercilious monotone of her voice.  
  
"Yes, she's my grandmother."  
  
"Ah, so I was right. You've managed to marry into a very influential family, Abby. That would explain your dress. I was wondering how you could afford to buy an expensive designer dress like that on your nurses salary. I actually thought it was rather pathetic that you'd be willing to bankrupt yourself just to impress me, but seeing as you're a Carter now such apparel will be par for the course, I suppose."  
  
"Well, I never thought of it that way." Carter said. Abby looked over at him and saw that like her he was having a hard time keeping his good temper. Luckily his sense of humour prevailed. "You only married me for my family's money, Abby?" he joked.  
  
"Oh yeah, and the sex! What, you thought I was in love with you or something?" she joked back. They both laughed at each other and Carter put his arm around Abby's waist to pulled her closer against his side. She smiled and put her hands on his chest as he bent his head down to kiss the top of her head. They looked over at Richard's mother who had a slight smile on her face, but who was obviously not amused. They stopped laughing. Carter looked down at the ground and shifted his feet whilst Abby sucked on her lower lip nervously.  
  
This almost feels like getting caught making out by your girlfriend's parents, Carter couldn't help but think. The silence was deafening and seemed like it was going to last for a while when Abby suddenly perked up as if she had suddenly remembered something.  
  
"We've met Cathy!" she said to Judith. "Richard really is lucky. She's lovely. I hear her little boy is quite a character as well!"  
  
"Oh yes, she's an angel isn't she?" Judith replied, momentarily stirred into animation. "You couldn't ask for a more perfect daughter-in-law. Richard's father and I adore her. Richard hasn't always had such good taste on women," she said pointedly.  
  
Abby had managed to ignore the cold demeanour and general rudeness, but she could no longer ignore the obvious venom in Mrs Lockhart's words. She had never got on well with Richard's parents, but she had never realised they disliked her this intently. She felt Carter tighten his grip around her waist, and she looked up to see his lips were tight shut, a sign she had come to recognise meant he was trying hard to keep his anger contained. She gave him a look that begged him not to say anything for the sake of peace, and braced herself for the next  
  
"Come on, Abby, let's not talk about past unpleasantness. We both have something to celebrate now. You're newly married and I'm *finally* a grandmother. Let's have a little drink to celebrate." Judith held up her hand ceremoniously and waved over a waiter who was walking past carrying a tray of champagne flutes. She picked up two glasses and handed one of them over to Abby with a sardonic smile.  
  
"I don't drink, thank you Judith," Abby replied tersely. Judith knew very well that she had been an alcoholic, so why was she handing her a drink?  
  
"Do you not?" said Judith, affecting surprise and withdrawing the champagne flute. "I seem to recall it being almost impossible to drag you away from the drinks table at family functions. Every memory I have of you is with a drink in your hand."  
  
Abby snapped. She knew that Richard's mother was trying to provoke her and that she should ignore her, but she couldn't stand looking at the malicious smile on her face. "Judith you know very well I'm a……" she began to say, but she was cut off by Carter who had also seen this as the final straw.  
  
"Abby's not drinking because of the baby." He turned to Abby and put a finger over Abby's lips in a sshing motion to stop her replying. "I'm sorry honey, I know you didn't want to say anything because you didn't want to overshadow Richard's big day, but I don't like people talking behind your back," he said pointedly, directing everything he said to Richard's mother who he knew was listening. He turned to her, the anger evident in his voice, and continued his speech. "You see, that's the kind of person Abby is, always thinking about how what she does and who he is appears to others. Some people would do better to do the same thing," he finished meaningfully, looking directly at Richard's mother. "Come on, Abby, let's get out of here." He grabbed Abby's hand and made to move past Mrs Lockhart.  
  
The sudden movement woke Judith from the stunned silence his comments had put her in and she started to admonish Carter. "Now you listen here…"  
  
This was too much for Carter. He could bear the sycophants and the hypochondriacs, but he knew Abby was sensitive about her past and he couldn't stand somebody using it against her. He snapped, REALLY snapped, and swung round to confront Mrs Lockhart with a force that made her take a step back.  
  
"No, *you* listen!" he shouted, his voice rising with his anger. "We didn't have to come here today, nobody expects the ex-wife to come, but we did to show there were no hard feelings. We didn't come here to be insulted by a pretentious, social climbing, mean-spirited old witch like you! Richard has moved on, but you just can't bring yourself to do the same, can you? I don't know why you can't let it go but personally I'm glad that their marriage didn't work out, otherwise I would not be standing here, married to the most wonderful woman in the world. I've had some terrible things happen to me in my life but I forget them when I'm with Abby, and I can honestly say that I have never been happier in my life. So maybe you should start to think that the problem was never with Abby but with your precious Richard! If you want my opinion it's probably more to do with the way he was brought up!"  
  
He left her standing there, unable to speak, and again turned to leave with Abby, who was unsure whether to laugh at the expression on Judith's face or stare in shock at Carter. She decided it was best under the circumstances to remain quiet, they could laugh about it later, so they said their good- byes shortly and walked out of the hotel side by side. 


	15. Introducing Carter Jr

Part 15  
  
"I can't believe you said that!"  
  
"Well what was I supposed to do? She was being really…*THUD*…nasty and I wanted to wipe that…*THUD*…smug look off her face." *THUD* "OW! I give up!! Stupid *KICK* Stupid *KICK* Door!!!!"  
  
"Calm down! Let me have a go."  
  
There was the sound of a key turning in the lock and the door knob jostling as Abby gave the bottom of the door a little kick, and the door to her apartment swung open. She stood aside with a flourish and gestured for Carter to step inside ahead of her. He did so, scowling slightly and rubbing his shoulder.  
  
"You know, now that I've officially moved in I think it's time we bought you a new door. That thing is a menace." Abby was looking decidedly unimpressed, in fact she was on the verge of laughter as she watched her husband trying to explain how the door had bested him. "I think I might have dislocated my shoulder…" he added in a small, little-boy lost voice as he tentatively tested his shoulder  
  
"Aw, poor baby. You want me to kiss it better for you?" She asked in a mock- concerned voice. He pouted and nodded slowly as he sat down on the sofa. She walked over and stood behind him, then placed her hands gently on his shoulders. She bent down to kiss his shoulder. "There," she asked softly, "all better?"  
  
He closed his eyes and nodded. She began to trail kisses up along his shoulder to his neck, then along his jaw. As she neared his mouth he turned his head and their lips met in a light kiss. He reached up and put his arms around her neck, deepening the kiss and pulling her gently over the back of the sofa. Her hands moved behind his head and she weaved her fingers through his hair, while he shifted slightly so that she was settled more comfortably on top of him.  
  
Eventually they drew apart and smiled at each other. Abby stared down at Carter: her hair was falling down about her face and Carter was again struck by how lucky he was to be with her. She moved one hand from around his neck and caressed his shoulder.  
  
"I see your shoulder's better," she said.  
  
"What can I say, you're a good doctor."  
  
"Flatterer!"  
  
"Well, it doesn't hurt to keep the wife sweet with a few compliments every now and then!"  
  
"Hey!!"  
  
She grabbed hold of a cushion from behind her and swung it at him. He put his hands up to defend himself, and as she drew back to take another swing at him he reached out and started to tickle her. She continued to try hitting him with the cushion with one hand whilst the other one was clasped across her shoulders in an attempt to stop him tickling her arm-pits. She managed to twist herself away from his reach and jumped off the couch, running towards the kitchen. Carter rolled off the couch and ran after her, cornering her by the kitchen table. She feigned to the left but he moved in the same direction, then the same happened when she moved to the right. They stood there facing each other at opposite sides of the table, eyeing each other up and panting for breath. Abby was the first to break the silence. She let go of the back of the chair she was holding and stood up, putting her hands up in the surrender position.  
  
"OK, ok, "she gasped. "Truce?"  
  
Carter considered this, and stood upright. He nodded his head. "Alright. Truce."  
  
"HA! Gotcha!" She dodged to the left and ran past him. Carter called out after her for cheating and continued to chase her around the apartment. He caught her just as she was running into the bedroom, and she screamed with laughter as he lifted her off her feet and kicked the door to the bedroom shut. Her shrieks could be heard through the apartment as he threw her onto the bed, where he soon followed her and silenced her with a kiss…  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Later that night they lay curled up together in their bed, with her back against his chest and his arm draped over her waist. Abby was playing with the hand of Carter's right arm, which was behind her head, feeling the fingers and rubbing the palm in small circular movements, almost as if she was in a dream. He was watching her, equally mesmerised by her actions.  
  
"John," she said wistfully.  
  
"Um?" he answered, still transfixed by the patterns she was tracing on his hand.  
  
"About what you said to Richard's mother, about me being pregnant and you never being happier…"  
  
"What about it?" he answered absently.  
  
"I've been thinking. The idea shocked me a little at first, but it didn't really scare me like I thought it would. And even though it was only for a few minutes I really liked the idea. For a few minutes I was there thinking 'I'm carrying John's Baby' and I was SO happy…I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you want to, I'd really like for us to try for a baby."  
  
This brought Carter back to earth with a bump. He wouldn't deny that he had thought of having a baby with Abby, often, but he had never wanted to say anything because he knew the possibility of it being bi-polar was a huge factor with her. Before he allowed himself to accept the idea he had to know that this was what she really wanted, that it wasn't just an impulse decision. He turned her over gently so that she was facing him, and he looked deep into her eyes.  
  
"Do you really mean that?" he whispered softly. "Because if you're not sure then we don't have to try. We can wait and talk about it, read some articles, give you time to set your mind at rest…"  
  
Abby put out her hand and placed her fingers over his lips to stop him talking. She then removed her hand and gave him a light kiss on the lips.  
  
"I'm sure, John. I've thought about this. A lot, not just this evening. All tonight has made me realise is that more than anything else in the world I want to be a family with you. A proper family. And I'm willing to take the risk if you are. So long as we're together I think we can cope with whatever life throws at us!"  
  
He smiled slowly before breaking into a huge grin.  
  
"Okay." He kissed her, a deep kiss that seemed to last forever as they wrapped their arms around each other. They broke apart and looked at each other again. They were both smiling, but as the enormity of the decision they had just made hit them they started to laugh. "OKAY!" Carter laughed before kissing Abby once more, setting them off on another round of lovemaking that would hopefully welcome a new life into the world. 


	16. Going to Lunch with Gamma (Original, isn...

Part 16  
  
"Abby. A-a-a-bby." Carter sang in a quiet voice as he tried to wake Abby up. She stirred a little and turned over onto her side, presenting her back to him. He knelt down on the bed beside her and lightly kissed her cheek. She smiled a little but kept her eyes tight shut and mumbled something incoherent.  
  
"Good Morning Sleepyhead! Rise and Shine!" he smiled at her as she turned to face him, squinting at the early morning sunshine coming through the window.  
  
"I'll rise but I refuse to shine." she said groggily and she pushed herself upright to a sitting position. She took the cup of coffee that Carter was holding out to her and took a sip. The heat shocked her and burnt her tongue, which caused her to let slip a few choice swear words.  
  
"Yet another of the things I love about you," he grinned. "Your sparkling early morning demeanour!" She poked her tongue out at him and continued to sip of her coffee. Carter continued to smile and stare at her for a few seconds before shaking himself out of his reverie. He slapped to the duvet covers and jumped off the bed.  
  
"Come on," he said, "we promised Gamma we'd be there at noon. You'd better get a move on if you want to have a shower before we go."  
  
"Ugh, I forgot about that," she groaned. "Couldn't you go without me? Tell her I'm sick!" She put down the coffee cup on the bedside cabinet and threw the covers over her head. Carter pulled the covers back and gave her a disapproving look.  
  
"It's not that bad! Gamma loves you. And you know you like her too so what's the problem?"  
  
"I just don't want to go anywhere today. Why can't we just stay here where it's cosy?"  
  
"Listen, if you can spend an evening with your ex-in-laws then you can spend the afternoon with your new ones. It's just lunch, I promise you we won't be there long. Then we can come back here and talk some more about little Carter Junior!" He smiled at her, and she couldn't stop herself from laughing at the lecherous look on his face. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and was about to stand up when a thought hit her and she sat back down again. She opened her mouth to speak but before she could Carter put up his hand to stop her: "And before you ask, no, my mother will not be there. She had to go some last-minute function thing in Boston. Its just you, me and Gamma. And besides, I'm gonna need an extra pair of hands to help pack up my stuff and bring it back here!"  
  
"Ooh, you talked me into it!" She stood up on tiptoe and gave him a quick kiss. "But only because the only alternative is for me to pack up my stuff and move into the Carter Mansion!"  
  
She walked into the bathroom and stepped into the shower, emerging after 10 minutes to find the bed made and their discarded clothing from the night before put away. She dressed quickly in a pair of black trousers and a burgundy turtleneck, pulled her hair back into a loose twist, checked her make-up quickly in the mirror , then walked into the living room to find Carter spread out on the couch and flipping through the channels on the television.  
  
"Are we ready to go then?" she asked  
  
"Wow, that was quick! I thought you'd be at least another half-hour."  
  
"Well thank-you for your faith in my time-keeping ability. You said we were in a rush, so I rushed."  
  
"And you look as beautiful as if you'd spent all morning. How do you do it?" He stood up and walked over to her. He knew she was tired after the last few days and was probably ready to jump on the slightest thing he said, so he hoped that he had sufficiently covered to save himself from one of her bad moods!  
  
"No need to sweet-talk me, Carter. I forgive you." She picked up her coat and keys from the hall table and pulled the chain and bolts back off the door. She held the door open and looked back at Carter who was shrugging himself into his coat. "So are we going or what?"  
  
"Yes Ma'am!" he clicked his heels in mock salute and joined her by the door. They both stepped out into the hallway and Abby pulled the door shut behind them, making sure that all the locks were set. They walked down the stairs and out of the apartment building in silence. They had been so close just minutes ago; Abby couldn't bear that there was this silence between them now. As Carter handed her into the passenger's side of his car and walked around to the driver's side she resolved to tell him what was bugging her so much about visiting his Gamma this morning. The car pulled away from the kerb, and Abby decided now was the time:  
  
"John, I'm sorry I snapped at you. It's just…I mean did you…does your Gamma know about us? I mean obviously she knows about "us", but does she know about "US"? 'Cause your family may tolerate me as a girlfriend but what if they don't think I'm good enough to be your wife? Maybe they only thought I was temporary until they managed to find the perfect little society clone who would bring you back into the fold. I don't think I could cope with their disappointment on top of everything else."  
  
"Don't be stupid, Abby," he put a hand on her leg to reassure her, and gave her a brief look before turning his attention back to the road. "No, I haven't told Gamma that we're married, but she knows how I feel about you. That day we met in Docs, after I got back from rehab, I went home and told my grandparents that I had met the girl I was going to marry. My family love you for who you are, just like I do, and neither one of us wants you to change to fit some outmoded stereotype. You just wait and see, Gamma will be thrilled!"  
  
As their conversation finished they pulled up in front of the carter mansion. Carter reached out and cupped her face with his hand and gently stroked her cheek with his thumb. He stared at her intently. "You believe me, right? You're not worried anymore?" She shook her head and smiled at him, and they simultaneously moved together for a kiss…  
  
As the kiss ended Carter smiled at her and opened his door. He walked around the car to the passenger side, opened the door, and held out his hand to Abby. "Come on then, Mrs Carter, we've got some good news to break."  
  
  
  
(That's it for now. Didn't want to write anything else in case this lot didn't go down well. Hope you enjoyed them. Anyway, I have to go to work now so bye-bye!) 


	17. Gamma finds out

Part 17

As Carter and Abby entered the spacious hallway of the Carter Mansion they were greeted by the weekend butler who took their coats from them. Carter thanked him and asked where his grandmother was, and on being told she was in the study he and Abby turned to walk towards that room. As if he had a sudden thought Carter turned and called out to the retreating figure of the butler:

"Oh, wait a second Abby, I forgot to check my messages. Albert?" he called over to the butler, "has anybody called for me?"

"As a matter of fact Master John they have." He made a move to the hall table andpicked up a pile of papers that had been lying on a silver salver, then proceeded to read them out. "A Dr Weaver called to remind you that you have Chart review next week; Dr Chen phoned on Saturday to inquire about details of an incident involving you and Miss Lockhart on Friday; and Dr Lewis has been phoning repeatedly for the last few days trying to locate you. I stopped taking the messages in the end but she did seem most insistent," he finished, handing over the slips of paper to Carter, who dismissed him and then looked sheepishly at Abby.

"Guess we did leave things a little up in the air! Wonder why they didn't try phoning your place?"

"They probably did." It was Abby's turn to look sheepish. She looked around to see if anybody was listening and lowered her voice; she couldn't help it but sometimes, not always, when she visited Carter's house she felt like she was in a museum and that she should whisper. "I didn't want to spend our wedding night answering questions from those gossips at work so I unplugged the phone. I must have forgotten to plug it back in."

"This just gets better and better," Carter laughed, "they're probably going crazy trying to figure out what happened!" Abby joined in his laughter and linked her arm with his as they continued towards the study where Millicent Carter sat behind a desk reading the morning papers. She smiled and rose as they entered the room and made a move to approach them, but Carter instantly left Abby's side and went to take his grandmother's arm.

"Now Gamma, take it easy, you're still recovering," he said as he started to lead her towards one of the two couches which occupied the centre of the room.

"You mean I'm OLD, and whilst that may be I am not in my grave just yet so I am more than capable of walking by myself!" 

"Yes, Gamma." Carter knew when not to argue so he gently released his grip on her arm. 

"That's better…now come here and give your grandmother a kiss!" Carter bent down and kissed her on the cheek, and straightened to receive the admonitions of his grandmother, looking as he had when she used to tell him off for playing with her Faberge eggs when he was a child. "You're becoming quite the stranger around here, John," she said. "I was beginning to think you'd forgotten all about us here…but I can see you've had better places to be. How lovely to see you again Abby." She gave Abby a warm smile and walked over to her. "I don't know but I've missed you more than this errant grandson of mine!" She embraced Abby who returned the hug happily.

"I've missed you too Millicent. I'm glad to see you're feeling better."

"Well I never was as bad as everybody said, I'm just a little old and cranky. And how many times have I told you to call me 'Gamma'?" she added, giving Abby a playful slap on the hand."

"OK 'Gamma'!" Abby laughed.

"Shall we sit down, Gamma? Abby and I have something we want to talk to you about." Carter was excited and couldn't wait to tell his grandmother everything. He practically herded her onto one couch and took Abby's hand to sit beside him on the couch opposite. John put his arm around Abby's waist and pulled her close to him; she just smiled and looked down at her hands as she folded and unfolded them in her lap. After a brief pause she looked up to see that John was looking down at her, grinning like an idiot. He jerked his head slightly towards his grandmother in indication that he wanted to tell her their news, Abby nodded and waited for him to start…but he didn't say anything. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out! Abby raised her eyebrows and nudged him with her shoulder:

"Go on," she murmured, "tell her."

"You tell her!" he nudged her back.

"Nooo" she stressed, with another nudge of the shoulder, "You tell her!"

"You" *Nudge*

"You" *Nudge*

"Would somebody like to tell her? Only I have the impression that I don't really need to be here for this argument," Gamma said good-naturedly. She enjoyed seeing John happy, and seeing him playfully banter with Abby like this was the happiest she had seen him in a long time. 

Carter and Abby both laughed at the picture they must have presented, arguing like a couple of schoolchildren, and tried to become serious with varying degrees of success. Carter immediately put on a straight face and sat upright, as did Abby, but within seconds Abby was giggling which made Carter smile.

"You were the one who was so excited a minute ago." she nudged him on last time.

"You were the one who…I can't think of anything!" he laughed and nudged her back, leaning his forehead against hers.

"Well that's just great," she joined in his laughter, "I've married a man who can't make comebacks! How are we supposed to have proper arguments if you can't make a comeback?"

They both continued laughing for a few seconds until they realised what Abby had just said. Abby slapped her hand over her mouth and widened her eyes in horror, then turned towards Millicent who was smiling at their expressions. Carter, unable to gauge his grandmother's reaction to the news, was trying to explain.

"Gamma, we didn't want to tell you like that. It's not that we didn't want you there. It was just …you see we…"

"It's alright John," she said, "you don't have to worry. I already know and I'm perfectly happy for you. I only wanted to see how long it would be before you managed to tell me yourselves!"

Carter and Abby breathed a collective sigh of relief. Abby relaxed against Carter's shoulder and closed her eyes as he kissed her hair. She was so glad that Millicent wasn't angry; she didn't like to admit it but this was what had worried her most. John loved his grandmother, and although Gamma had been happy with their relationship if she hadn't approved of the marriage Abby didn't know what that would do to John.

"You have no idea how relieved I am 'Gamma'!" Abby smiled. "I was worried you'd set the dogs on me or something to get me off the estate and away from your grandson!"

"And why would I do that, you silly creature?" Gamma replied. "I'd be a fool if I stood in the way of two people so obviously in love and, besides, anybody can see that you are the best thing that has ever happened to John!"

"I won't argue with that!" said Carter, looking down lovingly into Abby's eyes before leaning down to give her a soft kiss on the lips. "Thanks, Gamma," he said, raising his head to look at his grandmother. "It means a lot to me to know that you're happy about us, because I was so worried that when you found out about the wedding you'd feel cheated out of the grand society affair and all the…hang on a second!" he said, removing his arm from around Abby's waist and leaning forward on the couch to get a better look at Gamma. He cocked his head to one side slightly and raised an eyebrow: "How did you find out about the wedding?" 


	18. More Gamma! There can never be enough Ga...

Part 18  
  
Millicent Carter smiled indulgently at her grandson. "You never could keep a secret from me, John. I've known you were planning this for some time."  
  
"But this wasn't planned. We only went out to get a dress, not get married. It was impulse."  
  
"It was FATE!" Gamma replied forcefully. "There are no such things as co-incidences or accidents. You were destined to get married on Friday…and don't look at me as if I'm half-way to the mad-house John. You're not too old for me to take you over my knee!" she said, causing Carter to give a little smile and assume a more respectful attitude.  
  
"I'm sorry, Gamma, but I never knew you believed in things like that."  
  
"You think perhaps that because I'm the stern matriarch of a large family that I don't have a bit of whimsy in me?" Her eyes twinkled, softening the slight trace of sarcasm in her voice. "Let me tell you a story about fate. I had been engaged to Donald Winters for three years but we had never actually sat down and planned the wedding. There was one Christmas where I wasn't feeling particularly well and had been ordered by the doctors to stay at home instead of going to the Harrison's Christmas Party, but because I was madly in love with Donald and hadn't seen him for a few days I dressed myself up and arrived late at the party. Now," she said, pointing her finger at John and Abby, "if I hadn't gone to the party I wouldn't have seen Donald kissing Virginia Matheson. If I hadn't seen them kissing I wouldn't have run out of the room onto the terrace, and if I hadn't run out onto the terrace I would never have met your grandfather." Her tone became nostalgic and her eyes glazed over as she talked about her late-husband. "He had come to the party with Virginia but had found her with Donald, so to avoid a confrontation that would ruin the night for everybody else he had come out onto the terrace. He was lying down in the middle of the terrace looking at the stars which was why I didn't see him straight away. I came running out of that ballroom at such a speed and tripped right over him, falling flat on my face…I must have looked a fright!" she laughed. "My hair was all over the place, I had tears streaming down my face, and I had ruined my dress when I fell…but he just sat up, put his jacket around my shoulders, and offered me his handkerchief." Her tone had become wistful again. "We sat there the rest of the night talking. Nobody came out to join us because it was too cold, so it was like we were in our own little world." She stopped at this point and wiped her eyes which were starting to tear up. "Sentimental old fool!" she muttered to herself, then pulling herself together she continued. "Anyway, you couldn't separate the two of us after that. Five months later we were married, and I don't believe either of us ever regretted losing our partners that Christmas."  
  
Abby had listened to Gamma's tale with tears in her eyes, pleased by the trust the older woman had placed in them by sharing her story and touched by the romance of the tale. She walked over and sat beside Gamma, who patted the arm that Abby had put around her shoulders. "That's a lovely story, Millicent, thank-you for sharing it with us."  
  
"Yes," said John, "thank-you Gamma."  
  
"But you don't see the point I'm trying to make do you?" She looked over at John who gave a wry smile and shook his head slowly. "I had planned to marry Donald Winters, and if it weren't for the fact that I'm such a stubborn thing I probably would have done…and where would you be?! The fact is that I knew deep down he wasn't serious about marrying me but I was blind to all the signs. I was ready for marriage but he wasn't, and I realise now that it was because though I was ready for marriage it wasn't to him. When I met your grandfather I met my soul mate and everything else was inevitable. You and Abby are soul mates," she said, looking between the two of them and smiling, "so from the very moment you met Friday was inevitable. You may not have talked about it, or planned it, or maybe even thought about it, but you both instinctively knew it was the right time for you to get married on Friday which is why you did…Now I think I've said my piece. Shall we call for Lunch to be served?" She rose from her seat beside Abby and moved towards her desk where she rang a bell to summon Lunch, which comprised a platter of sandwiches and a tray of lemonade. "You don't mind if we eat in here do you Abby? It's just that I've taken to eating my meals in here since my husband died and it's hard to break a habit!"  
  
"Trust me, I know!" Abby said, munching away on a sandwich. "This is nothing, when I was little my brother and I used to make a camp in the bathroom and eat our meals in there!"  
  
"I remember whenever my parents used to hold a party I would go and hide under one of the tables and eat my cake whilst looking at the feet of all the adults walking past me. I could stay there for hours and I would hear my mother walking around looking for me to entertain the guests!" She and Abby were laughing at their shared eating experiences of childhood, but John remained quiet and kept looking at the two most important women in his life. He was so happy: he couldn't believe how easily Abby had become a part of his family and hid life, and it was becoming difficult to remember a time when she was not there. He continued to watch the two women talk and bond with a smile on his face, but as time went on he continued to think about what his grandmother had said and something didn't make sense. He liked what she had said about them being ready for marriage, he was perfectly willing to say that it was Fate which had brought Abby and him together, and he had certainly made no secret of the fact that he intended to marry Abby one day, but to say she knew they had gotten married on Friday because he couldn't keep a secret from her? He didn't buy it. There was something more she wasn't telling him, and he was determined to find out what it was. He cleared his throat to get her attention and then began to ask her the question on his mind.  
  
"Gamma, please don't take this the wrong way, but are you lying to us?"  
  
"John!" Abby cried out, horrified that he would accuse his grandmother like that. She glared at him but he just looked steadily at Millicent, who was staring back at him and trying to keep a straight face.  
  
"Why John," she said, "whatever are you implying."  
  
"Nothing…it's just there's something not quite right about all of this. If I didn't know I was going to get married on Friday then how could I keep it a secret from you…and don't give me a story about your strange psychic powers!" he added when he saw her open her mouth to reply. "Come on Gamma, tell us the truth."  
  
"Oh, alright, but you really are a killjoy John!" She walked over to the desk again and returned with the paper she had been reading as they had first entered the room. She turned a few pages and then handed it to Carter open at an article.  
  
"What's this?" he said, taking the paper from his grandmother and looking up at her.  
  
" 'This' is tomorrow's society section," Millicent explained. "I am on very good terms with the writer of that column, as you can imagine, and she thought I would be interested to know what was going to be the leading story on Monday and to get a comment from a family prospective."  
  
Carter looked away from Gamma and turned his attention to the article in his hands. Abby meanwhile had moved from her seat opposite and was once more sitting next to Carter. She leaned against him slightly so that she had a better view over his shoulder. "FAUX-SOCIALITE WEDDING YIELDS SURPRISE OF THE SEASON" the headline ran, and underneath was a picture of Carter and Abby obviously taken from the museum benefit they had attended over a year ago. "God, where did they dig that picture up!" Abby muttered to herself. Carter shifted so that she was more comfortably settled against him and stretched his arm along the back of the couch behind her before starting to read.  
  
" 'It is the sad duty of this reporter to inform you that one of Chicago's most eligible young bachelors is most definitely off the market! On Saturday I had the dubious honour of attending the wedding between Richard Lockhart MD, an up and coming cosmetic surgeon who is the name on the collagen-enhanced lips of most of middle-aged middle-class Chicago, and Catherine Wilkinson, a nondescript schoolteacher from suburbia. Any other time this would have been relegated to the announcements section, but in a slow Newsweek anything goes. So in the name of keeping society informed I forced myself into yet another ghastly floral monstrosity favoured at these affairs, spent three hours with Fabrizio having my hair and nails done, and tried not to think of what I was about to endure for my Art…' "   
  
"This woman is a friend of yours?" Carter stopped reading and looked at his grandmother.  
  
"Ssh!" Abby pushed him, "Keep reading!"  
  
"OK, no need to get aggressive! Where was I?" He scanned the page and mumbled to himself until he found the spot where he had left off. "Here it is: '…I went to the reception with low expectations and I wasn't disappointed. The obligatory gold leaf was present everywhere, as were the ice sculptures of dolphins, and white doves were duly being released on the terrace of what I used to believe was a hotel with standards of taste. I would have left with little to disclose to loyal readers of this column (other than the vulgarity of the groom's mother) were it not for my curiosity being piqued by the presence of Dr John Truman Carter III, heir to one of the largest private fortunes in the State, accompanied by a mysterious and beautiful brunette. I was able to discover on their departure that the woman in question was Abigail Lockhart (34), a nurse at Cook County General where Dr Carter is Chief Resident and, I'm sorry to say ladies, the new Mrs Carter. That's right, we can stop speculating because somebody has finally snapped the delectable Dr Carter up, and by all accounts he couldn't have chosen a lovelier, more down to earth woman. The family are said to be delighted with the match, and the lack of a large society affair has been attributed to the hectic work schedules of the newlyweds, although it is well documented that Dr Carter is a reluctant participant in society gatherings. I for one look forward to seeing more of this delightful couple, and I thank them for turning one of the most turgid evenings it has been my misfortune to attend into the highlight of my year…' "  
  
"Well she's not afraid of speaking her mind, is she!" Abby said as Carter moved forward to place the paper down on the coffee table. "I'm not too sure if I like the sound of some woman calling my husband 'delectable' though!" she teased.  
  
"Oh I don't know," Carter replied, turning to smile at her, "I rather like the idea of you being my 'mysterious and beautiful' wife…. So you got a tip-off from a journalist?" Carter asked, turning to his grandmother. "I have to say I'm disappointed. I thought you might have ESP or something!"  
  
"You're disappointed?" Gamma replied. "I might not have expected to be a participant at your wedding but I would have liked to have been told by you before having to field calls from journalists…Luckily for you I'm an old hand at these things and had no problem saying that I was delighted at the news and that I highly approved of your choice of bride."  
  
She smiled over at Abby who blushed a bright shade of crimson. Carter had the good grace to appear a little shame-faced as he apologised.  
  
"I'm sorry Gamma, it's just that Friday really was a spur of the moment decision. I guess I thought that since I would be seeing you today…the truth is I didn't think. The past 48 hours have flown by so quickly that I haven't had time to register much, or to really think of anything besides Abby."  
  
"That's quite alright, dear," Gamma replied, looking down indulgently at her grandson and his wife. "I won't pretend that I'm not disappointed that I didn't get to see you stand up at the altar, but when I said earlier that you had better things to do with your time than visit an old lady I meant it. I just want you to promise that you'll let me make a fuss when my first great-grandchild comes along!"  
  
"We promise!" Carter and Abby said together, then laughed.  
  
"Good, that's settled!" Gamma clapped her hands together in satisfaction and rose from the couch. "Well, I say we take advantage of this beautiful weather and go for a little drive. Who wants to come with me?"  
  
Abby readily agreed but Carter chose to stay behind to pack up his things from his room to take back to Abby's apartment…. No, he thought, to 'their' apartment. He watched from his bedroom window as the car pulled away down the drive and he gave a little wave, even though he knew they could not see him. He then turned and looked around at the room which had been his home for most of his life. He gave a small sad smile as he thought about leaving it for good, but his smile broadened as he pictured his new life with Abby. He set to work packing up the boxes he had brought with him, whistling happily as he went.  
  
  
(And that's your lot for now. Sorry if this Chapter was both wordy and rushed at the same time but I really like Gamma and think she doesn't get enough screen time, plus if I don't start pulling everything together I'll never be able to get the two of them back to the hospital! Hope you liked it. Oh, and if it's not too much trouble could somebody read my new fic and tell me what you think of it. Pleeeeeeeeease!) 


	19. Lunch at Docs...Filler Chapter!

(Apologies that it has taken me so long to update this. I've been working some extra shifts at work so I've not had the motivation. I will try harder from now on! Sorry that nothing much happens but I just needed a bit of a filler before the final chapter…20 is just a nice round number to end on whereas 19 is so uneven!)  
  
Part 19  
  
Abby sat in Doc Magoo's nursing a large cup of coffee and smoking a cigarette as she stared out at the street through the window. The sound of dishes being placed on the table drew her away from her thoughts.   
  
"Will there be anything else?" the waitress asked her, placing a burger and a basket of fries in front of Abby.  
  
"Um, no, I don't think so…but my husband will be joining me in a minute so you might want to come back."  
  
"Okay, I'll keep an eye out." She walked away, amused at the little smile Abby had given when she said the word 'husband'.  
  
Abby stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray and pulled the plate with the burger in front of her. She picked it up with both hands and took a huge bite, closing her eyes in satisfaction as she relished the taste of the greasy meat and the melted cheese. She let out a little moan of pleasure and was about to bring the burger back up for another bite when a voice stopped her.  
  
"Enjoying yourself?"  
  
She looked up to see John smiling down at her. She put the burger down and covered her mouth with her napkin, wiping the grease she could feel dripping down her chin.  
  
"Uh huh," she mumbled from behind the napkin. She swallowed the mouthful and continued, smiling up at him, "Better than Sex!"  
  
"Oh really?" He raised his eyebrows and gave her a lecherous look. "We'll just have to see about that later!" Abby started to giggle. She couldn't help laughing whenever he gave her that look. It was just…goofy! He returned her smile and bent down to give her a lingering kiss on the lips before slipping into the seat opposite her.  
  
"So I take it the delicious breakfast I made you this morning wasn't enough to fill you up! Is any of this for me or are you just stocking up for winter?!"  
  
"Don't mock me," she glared at him, assuming a hurt voice. "You know I'm nervous about going into that hospital, and when I'm nervous I eat. It's either that or never set foot inside the ER again…which I have to say is looking an attractive option at the moment!"  
  
"Oh come on, it's not that bad!" he laughed and reached over to take her hand in his. She looked into his eyes and realised she didn't have to be worried if he was going to be there with her. She gave him a little smile that acknowledge she was being silly, then they both simultaneously leaned forward over the table for a kiss. Just as their lips were about to meet Carter snaked his other hand over the top of the table…and grabbed a handful of fries from Abby's plate! He popped them in his mouth and sat back in his seat. He folded his arms across his chest and smiled at the look of frustration on her face as he continued to chew on the fries.  
  
"Hey," she said, trying to sound annoyed, "this is my comfort food. Get some of your own!"  
  
"Okay, no need to be so possessive!" He signalled the waitress over and ordered a Tuna Salad and a coffee, which she brought back almost immediately. While they were waiting for the salad to arrive Carter continued to steal chips from Abby's plate, and she kept slapping his hand away. They were both laughing when the waitress came over with John's salad, and as soon as she had laid the plate down they set to eating. After a few moments of companionable silence Abby started to speak.  
  
"So…" she drew out the word for as long as she could, waiting for him to turn his attention from his plate to her. "So what did they say?"  
  
Carter thought about this for a second before replying: "Nothing."  
  
"Nothing? John, you've been in that emergency department for two hours, are you seriously trying to tell me that nobody has said anything to you, or asked you any questions or anything? Come on, somebody has to have said something!" She was exasperated at his answer.  
  
"I didn't realise I was the advance party!" he joked, but seeing the look on her face he realised that this was no joking matter and became more serious. "They were finishing off a major trauma when I got in and I've been stuck with Weaver doing Chart Review since then. I really haven't seen anybody to talk to…Honestly!" he added, seeing that she didn't quite believe him.  
  
"Okay, let's assume that I believe you for a second…what did Weaver say?"  
  
"Well she didn't come right out with it and ask me, if that's what you mean. She just asked if there was something I wanted to tell her, that the staff had been gossiping all weekend, and that maybe since they've not been able to get hold of me at home for the last few weeks I might consider changing my contact details."  
  
Abby smiled and nodded. "So far, good, and you said?"  
  
"That I was sorry for any disruption I had caused, that it was purely unintentional, and that you and I had gotten married on Friday so 'yes' I would fill in the new contact forms as soon as we were finished doing the charts."  
  
"Just like that? Wow! And how did she take it? You know, was she over the top excited for you or did she just tell you not to let it interfere with your work?"  
  
"You're way to harsh on Kerry," Carter laughed. "She was great. She pulled out some forms from her bag and said she'd already taken the liberty of filling them in with your address for me so all I had to do was sign them! Then we just got on with the reviews and she sent me away on a break…oh, and she said to remind you that your shift starts at 12 sharp so not to be late again!"  
  
Abby looked down at her watch and groaned…only another 5 minutes before her shift started. She felt herself becoming anxious again so she pulled out a cigarette from the pack on the table and took a long, deep drag, instantly feeling calmer as she felt the smoke fill her lungs.  
  
"I thought you said you were going to quit," Carter said, reaching across the table to take the cigarette from her hand and taking a drag himself.  
  
She fixed her eyes on him and exhaled from the corner of her mouth, raising her eyebrows slightly. "You gonna try and stop me?" He shook his head and passed the cigarette back to her. She was obviously itching for a fight and if her smoking saved him from an argument he wouldn't say anything!   
  
Abby picked up her purse from the seat beside her and rose to pull on her jacket on. Carter rose at the same time and threw a handful of bills on the table to cover the bill. He turned to her and smiled, holding out his hand for her to take. She took hold of his hand and returned the smile, leaning into his body as they stepped out of the diner into the street. They walked in silence, but as they approached the ambulance bay Abby suddenly stopped whilst Carter kept walking until he noticed she was no longer by his side.  
  
Carter turned to see her staring ahead to the doors of the ER. He moved back to where she was standing and put his arm around her shoulder, pulling her into a hug and kissing the top of her head.  
  
"Thins is no big deal," he said softly. "You can do this."  
  
"I know. I'm just being silly…" she spoke into his chest. "Come on!" she added, pulling herself together and stepping back from his embrace. She took his hand in hers and they continued their walk through the ambulance bay.   
  
As they approached the bay doors Carter stopped and looked down at Abby, checking to see if she was really ready to face the gossips. She took a deep breath and looked up at him, then gave a slight nod of her head to show she was ready. They shared a brief kiss before walking through the automatic doors, fingers still intertwined, and seeing every pair of eyes at the nurses station turned towards them they readied themselves for the barrage of questions that was about to come!  
  
  
(Okay, I'm sorry that was just a bit of a filler chapter and nothing really happened in it. They will be in the hospital in the next chapter and it will all end happily ever after! Thanks for all the lovely reviews!) 


	20. The End: Lots of fluffiness

(Hi everybody. Here it is, *sob*, the last part of my story. I've tried to make it extra long as I didn't want to stop writing it, but all things must come to an end eventually...I'm sorry, *holds back tears*, you're just going to have to get on and read this because I'm a little too emotional...*Cries like a baby* I hope you enjoy it!!)  
  
Part 20  
  
Hand in hand Carter and Abby headed straight for the nurse's station: there was no point trying to duck into the Lounge because they'd already been seen, and besides, they'd only get cornered in there instead. Ultimately they didn't even have the luxury of walking in silence towards the front desk because almost as soon as they walked through the double doors Chuni had come running towards them and blocked their path:  
  
"You guys have left us hanging all weekend! Just tell us quickly before we go mad: Is it true?"  
  
Abby turned to look at Carter and they shared a look. They turned back with identical grins on their faces and nodded.  
  
"It's true!" they chorused. Chuni let out a high-pitched squeal of delight and threw her arms around them.  
  
"Oooh, I'm so happy for you guys! Let me see the ring again!" she said to Abby, who dutifully held her hand out.  
  
"It's so beautiful...But where are the diamonds? You're worth like, what, a gazillion dollars Carter and you can't spring for a little rock?!"  
  
They both laughed at her, knowing that she was just teasing them, and followed behind her as she ran to the nurse's station to break the good news.  
  
"Hey everybody, it's true!" Chuni announced to the assembled crowd of doctors and nurses. "We got ourselves some newlyweds!"  
  
The expected round of "Congratulations" and "We're so happy for you"'s followed from the anonymous doctors and nurses who were always there but who didn't seem to have names. All the men were slapping Carter on the back and Abby was busy showing all the women her ring. Haleh gazed at the ring in semi-wonder and looked up at Abby.  
  
"I never even knew you guys were going out! How did you manage to sneak through my radar?" she asked Abby before giving her a hug. "I'm so happy for you. And you?" she turned to Carter who was in the process of having his back slapped hard in congratulation by Malik. "You I can still remember as a little med-student, so eager to please, running around after anything blonde and in a skirt, and now look at you! Married! I can't believe how quickly the time has gone."  
  
"And you played along with our whole little surprise party thing on Friday!" Lydia walked over and gave Carter a playful slap on the arm. "You must have been laughing at us all weekend! I just don't know how we didn't spot it. We're normally so good at this sort of thing...maybe it's because we've been busy lately," she mused. "It can't possibly be that we're losing our touch!"  
  
They continued joking around for a little while when Abby began to look around the group and realised that somebody was missing. Where was Susan? Abby had been dying to tell her for ages about her and Carter and now that it was all out in the open she was nowhere to be seen. At that moment she heard a voice call out from down the hall and she turned to see Susan walking towards them.  
  
"You know, a little wedding invitation would have been nice!" She flung a chart into the rack and simultaneously squealed with Abby as they ran together to share a hug.  
  
"I can't believe you got married and didn't say anything! I've been going mad all weekend trying to get hold of you but you weren't answering your phone and I couldn't get Carter at his place."  
  
"Well that's probably because John has been living with me for the past few months."  
  
"Months? How long have you two been seeing each other? No wait, don't tell me yet! I've got explosive diarrhoea in 4 and I'm going to need a happy story to restore my good mood afterwards." She kissed Abby on the cheek and pointed at her as she picked up her chart and backed away. "Coffee later?" Abby nodded and went back to Carter's side. Within seconds everybody was laughing and joking about the need for a great blowout party seeing as Carter and Abby hadn't had a proper reception, but this was soon ended by the arrival of Dr Weaver.  
  
"Alright," she said for everybody to hear, "I'm sure that we're all very happy for Dr Carter and Abby but there are still patients to see. There'll be plenty of time for gossiping and catching up later." She winked at Carter and Abby as she walked away, telling them that they had a few more minutes than everybody else to get themselves together.  
  
Everybody moved away from the desk with a groan and set about seeing patients. Carter followed Abby into the lounge as she put her stuff away in her locker, and they were in the process of sharing one last kiss before her shift started and his re-started when Dr Pratt came barging into the room looking for Carter.  
  
"Listen, Dr Carter?" he said, walking over to the couple who had moved apart after the interruption.  
  
"What is it Pratt?" Carter said wearily. He didn't like this young man and every time he spoke Carter could feel his will to live drain away. It didn't help his mood much that he's been enjoying his kiss with Abby and didn't know when they were going to get another chance to meet for the rest of the shift.  
  
"Congratulations and all that," Pratt said dismissively, "but now that you're married does that mean that you'll be letting some of us younger guys run the big traumas? Coz I'm ready for it, I know I am. You just never seem to want to give me a chance. It's coz I'm black, isn't it!"  
  
"No, Pratt, it's because you're an intern. You don't have the experience, the knowledge or, frankly, the skill to run a big trauma. Now why don't you run along and find Dr Lewis. I'm sure she could use some help with her diarrhoea."  
  
"That was a little harsh, don't you think?" Abby whispered to Carter after Pratt left.  
  
"I can't help it. The little turd annoys me! The sooner someone brings him down a couple of pegs the better.... Besides, this is supposed to be a happy day for us and I don't want him dragging me down. He's already stopped me from doing one of my favourite activities."  
  
"Oh yeah," Abby smiled at him, "and what's that?"  
  
"This." He leaned down and captured her lips with his. The kiss was so deep he thought he was going to drown and he felt the strength begin to leave his legs.  
  
"Wow," he said, ending the kiss and releasing her from his arms, "I think that's going to last me for a couple of hours!"  
  
"I should think so, but you know where to find me if it wears off." She flicked his tie flirtatiously and reached up to give him a quick peck on the lips. She then walked out of the lounge and was collared by Dr Weaver to assist on a trauma; Carter walked over to the board, picked up a chart, and headed off towards Exam 2.  
  
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"How are you feeling today Mr Jameson?" Carter asked as he entered the room. He pulled up a seat next to the patient and started to take his blood pressure.  
  
"Not too good. I think I ate some bad shrimp last night and ever since then--"  
  
He didn't have time to finish explaining. Before Carter knew what was happening the man was throwing up on him, ruining his shirt and trousers completely.  
  
"I'm so sorry. God, I'm so embarrassed. I'm so, so sorry!"  
  
"Don't worry about it, Mr Jameson," Carter said, standing well back in case of a repeat performance. "I'm used to it by now. It's not a proper shift unless somebody throws up on me! Here use this if you feel sick again." He handed Mr Jameson an Emerson's Basin then turned to write some orders on his chart, which he then placed, on the end of the bed. "Okay, Mr Jameson, I've ordered some tests and a nurse should be in soon to take some blood, but I don't think we have anything to worry about. Probably just a simple case of food poisoning."  
  
"Thanks Doc." The patient tried to smile but suddenly started to heave and thrust his head into the basin. Carter gave him his best sympathetic doctor-smile and patted him on the back before turning to leave the room. As he did so Mr Jameson added: "Oh, and congratulations!"  
  
"Excuse me?" Carter turned, puzzled as to how a patient would know to congratulate him. Mr Jameson gave a little movement of his hand to indicate he should turn round. Carter did so, looking a little like a dog chasing its' tail, and found he had a piece of paper pinned to his back. He pulled it off and read it, "Just Married."  
  
"Malik!" he said under his breath, remembering the nurse slapping him on the back earlier and silently vowing to get his revenge. He pulled himself together and smiled his thanks before turning to leave the room.   
  
On his way to the lounge he picked up a set of scrubs. Inside the lounge he opened his locker and pulled out the spare t-shirt he always kept. He had already changed his trousers and shirt when he heard the door open and somebody call out to him.  
  
"Well, well, well. If it isn't 'the delectable Dr Carter'!" she said in her characteristically dry voice. "But where is your beautiful and mysterious new bride?"  
  
He paused slightly in the process of pulling the scrub top over his t-shirt, but he didn't bother turning as he recognised the voice. "Deb. You read the paper this morning." He didn't phrase it as a question but more as a statement of fact, and finished pulling the top over his head.  
  
"Of course I did. The society pages are required reading in my house. Imagine my surprise this morning when my mother called me this morning to tell me that my friend John Carter was on the front page, and that he was married no less!"  
  
Carter turned and smiled sheepishly at Deb Chen and looked down at his feet. "I'm sorry Deb. I only got your message yesterday and I meant to return your call but, well, I sort of got distracted!" He looked back up at her to see that she was smiling.  
  
"I'll bet you did!" she said sarcastically. "So anyway there I am, coming into work on Saturday evening, and I'm cornered by a group of nurses. 'Had I heard the gossip about Carter and Abby making out in the ambulance bay and wearing matching rings?' Well of course I hadn't, so the first thing I do when I've got a free minute is phone you at home, but you're not there. Nobody could say for certain what was going on and we were all speculating like crazy. Were you engaged? Were you married? Still no word from you...and then the article this morning."  
  
"Listen Deb..."  
  
"No, it's alright, I understand," she held up her hand to stop him and assumed an offended tone. "It's nice to know that your best friend gets married and thinks so much of you that you have to read about it in a newspaper article. I know where I stand from now on!"  
  
"Oh God, I feel terrible Deb, I really do."   
  
"Relax John, I'm just teasing you," she laughed. "I'm glad you finally decided to do something with Abby. It was about time! I know you'll both be very happy together."   
  
"Thanks Deb. You're too good to me." He kissed her on the cheek and pulled her into a hug.  
  
"Don't I know it!" she said, returning the hug. They pulled apart and walked out of the lounge together.  
  
"So are you on tonight?" Carter asked as he held open the door and waited for her to step through.  
  
"Only a half shift, thank goodness. I'll be home soaking in a nice warm bath while you're still here lancing boils..."  
  
"Don't make me hate you Deb!"  
  
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(A few hours later)  
  
Abby had just returned from a brief meeting with Carter in one of the empty exam rooms and was walking towards the nurse's station with a huge smile on her face when she was accosted by Haleh.  
  
"Good, you're back," she said, pretending not to notice Abby's slightly dishevelled appearance. "Can you take this one for me? Little girl fell over in a playground and hurt her arm. She's in chairs with her mother"  
  
Abby took the chart from Haleh and walked over to chairs, calling out the name on the chart in front of her.  
  
"Beccy Wallis?" She looked up to see a young blonde lady holding a little girl aged about 6 or 7 and walked over to them. "Hi, my name is Abby Lockhart. It says here that you fell over Beccy," she said, looking down at the chart. "Do you mind showing me where it hurts?"   
  
Beccy looked a little uncertain at first but she looked up at her mother, who nodded at her and told her to show the nurse her arm.  
  
"Ooh, that looks painful, but you're being a brave girl. If you and your mummy would like to come with me I'll put you in a little room and the doctor will come to see you. He's probably going to want an X-Ray to make sure that nothing is broken...do you know what an X-Ray is?" Abby asked as she lifted Beccy up onto an exam table.  
  
"It's when they get this big camera and take pictures of your bones," the little girl whimpered.  
  
"That's right! And you know what else? If you ask really nicely then maybe the doctor will let you keep your picture for you to show to all your friends."  
  
"Really?" Beccy stopped sobbing and her face brightened at the prospect.  
  
"Sure. Just let me go and find a doctor for you. It shouldn't be too long," she added, looking at the mother.   
  
Abby then left the room and started to walk towards the admit desk to find a doctor to take care of her patient. As she walked towards the admit desk she could see some sort of commotion going on. From what she could see Frank, who had obviously got back from vacation, was caught up in a heated discussion with some sort of delivery guy who was waving a clipboard in Frank's face and kept jabbing at it with his finger. Things looked like they were about to get messy so Abby decided to walk over and try to diffuse the situation. She handed her chart to one of the other nurses and carried on walking to the desk.  
  
"Frank, what's the problem here?"  
  
"This little pipsqueak wants to make a delivery to somebody who doesn't exist! I've told him nobody by that name works here and he should just take them away..."  
  
"...and I've told old jelly-belly here that I can't do that. I have to get a signature."  
  
"That's what I hate about this place, all the little freaks! I've only been back 5 minutes and I'm dealing with a loony! They should pay me more..."   
  
"Alright, what do you got?" Abby said, shushing Frank with her hand and turning to the delivery guy.  
  
"I've got to deliver these flowers to an Abigail Carter in the ER..."  
  
"That's me," Abby said interrupting him, blushing furiously when she realised the eyes of everybody in the vicinity were on her. "I'm Abby Carter. I haven't had time to fill in the change of name forms so Frank wouldn't know. Where do you want me to sign?"  
  
"Right here." The delivery guy handed her a form and darted a triumphant look at Frank whilst Abby bent down to sign it. She handed back the clipboard to him and he brought out an enormous arrangement of dried flowers from behind his back. "Okay then, these are for you. Enjoy them!"  
  
He turned and left the ER, leaving Abby marvelling at the beauty of the arrangement  
  
"You should phone the flower shop and get that smart-ass fired!" Frank was saying but Abby couldn't hear him. She had just noticed a card hiding in the basket and was pulling it out to read it, oblivious to all the curious comments being fired at her by the nurses.  
  
"To my wife. Just to say that I miss you and can't wait for this day to be over. All my love. John."  
  
"So do you like them?" Carter came up behind her and put his arms around her. He bent down to kiss the back of her neck then rested his chin on her shoulder.  
  
"They're beautiful, John. Thank-you." She turned her head slightly so that she could kiss him then she turned back to look at the arrangement.  
  
"Just wanted to show everybody how much I love my wife, and to let her know that I'd rather be at home with her than here being thrown up on."  
  
"I'm sure she feels the same way!" said Abby leaning back against him.  
  
"Mmm, I like being able to do this," Carter said after a pause, "being able to hold you in front of everybody. It makes you wonder why we didn't tell them about is sooner, then we could have been doing this all the time."  
  
"I know what you mean. I like you being able to hold me."  
  
"Do you think the novelty will ever wear off?"  
  
"It better not mister, otherwise I'm going to find myself a more attentive husband!" She turned around in his arms and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him for all she was worth. A round of applause brought them back to reality and they reluctantly separated. Carter picked up a chart and blew her a kiss as he walked off down the corridor. She stared after him, practically leaning over the counter as she strained to get a longer look at him. Eventually he turned into the exam room and Abby lost sight of him. She slumped down in a seat behind her and rested her chin in her hands, her head swimming with images of John smiling and kissing her. She sighed happily and smiled as she saw him emerge from the room and cross over to the supply closet to collect some piece of kit.  
  
"I'll give you a penny for them." Susan said, startling Abby out of her reverie.  
  
"For what?" Abby asked as she turned to look at Susan, although her eyes quickly wandered back to the supply room.  
  
"Your thoughts...not that it would be worth the money. I can pretty much guess what you were thinking of!" Her eyes followed the direction of Abby's gaze. Abby blushed a bright shade of red.  
  
"It's not that...I mean I wasn't...what makes you think I was doing anything? I'm worried about a patient. Trying to find her parents for her..." she flustered and shuffled some papers around in front of her trying to look busy. Susan wasn't fooled though.  
  
"It's OK Abby! I wasn't saying you were doing anything wrong. Nobody would blame you for being a little distracted at the moment!"  
  
"I know!" Abby groaned, covering her face with her hands to calm the blushing before looking up at Susan. "I guess I'm just embarrassed that you caught me mooning over my boyfriend like a 13 year old!"  
  
"Husband," Susan reminded her.  
  
Abby laughed at her mistake. "Right, husband...I'm going to have to get used to that! It's all so weird!"  
  
"You're telling me. It seems like only a week ago I was sitting with you in Doc Magoo's talking about my lack of a love life, and you were saying how you felt exactly the same and that you needed a boyfriend desperately...oh wait, that was last week!" she teased.  
  
"I'm so sorry Susan." Abby laughed at her friend's teasing. "I wanted to tell you, I really did, but we were trying to keep this a secret and I couldn't risk it getting out. You know what this place is like."  
  
"Yeah. You think it's a hospital but in reality it's just a rumour mill with medical instruments!" They both laughed at this assessment of the ER. "So, are we going to get some coffee later? Maybe you can fill me in on some of the stuff I've been missing these last few months?"  
  
Abby smiled. "I'd like that. Oh, and Susan?" she called out at the retreating figure of her friend who had started to walk away. Susan turned back and waited for her to explain. "Thank you...for being so great about this. I guess I didn't tell you 'cause I thought you'd be mad, or maybe you still liked John and you'd stop talking to me, and I didn't want to lose your friendship."  
  
"Come here!" Susan pulled Abby into a hug and gave her a tight squeeze. "You are silly sometimes. I'm just so happy for the both of you! I thought I was going to go crazy watching you two dance around each other all the time..."  
  
Abby had only been half listening. She was too busy suffocating from the hug that Susan was still giving her. She managed to free her arms enough to pat Susan on the back to get her to let go.  
  
"Susan," she gasped, "Susan! I can't breathe!"  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry, it's just I'm so excited!" Susan said, releasing Abby and taking a step back. "You have to tell me everything: how you got together, how long ago, what was the wedding like, what is *he* like, if you know what I mean!"  
  
Abby blushed. "I can't tell you all that here! Anybody could be listening." To emphasise her point she looked around her only to find that they were the only people at the admit desk apart from Frank, who looked like he couldn't care less.  
  
"Alright then," Susan laughed at Abby's failure to prove her point, "let's go and get that cup of coffee now. You can tell me all about Carter and I'll tell you all about my little lab technician!"  
  
"You didn't!!" Abby gasped, looking at her friend. Susan merely raised an eyebrow and held out her hand. If Abby wanted to know more she was going to have to go to Doc Magoo's! She hopped down off her seat and linked arms with Susan, and arm in arm they walked across the road to the restaurant, talking all the way.  
  
"So, the new lab guy, huh?" Abby said as they walked into the ambulance bay.  
  
"Well, it all started with those backed up labs on Friday........."  
  
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(Later that night)  
  
Abby flopped down on the couch in the lounge and closed her eyes. She wasn't off for a while yet, she had been vomited on twice, she hadn't had a break for hours, and to top it off she had worn a new pair of shoes that were making her feet ache like anything! She kicked off the shoes and stretched out on the couch, leaning her head against the arm-rest and closing her eyes. She heard the door to the lounge but she was too tired to open her eyes. If they wanted her to get up for a trauma then they could carry her to the ambulance bay, 'cause there was no way she was going to get up of her own volition now.  
  
Whoever it was obviously thought she was asleep. She could hear them opening their locker, taking off the coat and replacing their stethoscope, then pulling something else out and shutting the locker door. She waited to hear the footsteps leave the lounge, but instead they approached the couch where she was sleeping. She could sense them looking down at her but she was determined not to open her eyes. After a few moments of silence she heard a voice asking her a question.  
  
"You want me to give you a foot rub?"  
  
Abby's eyes shot open as she watched John sit down in the opposite corner of the couch and pull her feet into his lap. As soon as she realised who it was she smiled and relaxed against his touch.  
  
"I would have your children if you could make this shift end!" she groaned in satisfaction as Carter's fingers found the pressure points in her feet and began kneading them.  
  
"I thought we'd already agreed on that!" Carter leaned forward to plant a quick kiss on her lips before resuming his massage.  
  
"Yeah, well, lets just say I no longer plan on castrating you the second the first contraction hits!"   
  
"Ouch!" he chuckled.  
  
"Don't worry about it, John. If I did that I'd miss out on all the fun of trying for another one." He saw that her eyes were still closed but she had a wicked little smile on her face as she said this, making her look all the more adorable. He stopped rubbing her feet and pulled her into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she laid her head against his shoulder, totally relaxed for the first time that day.  
  
"Abby," he whispered softly.  
  
"Mmm?" Her voice was muffled against his shoulder and he could feel her starting to fall asleep against him. He stifled a yawn himself and carried on with his question.  
  
"What time are you off?"  
  
"Not for another hour," she groaned. "How about you?"  
  
"I was off ten minutes ago." He stroked her hair back off of her face and looked down at her. "You want me to stay and wait for you?" he asked, but she didn't answer. She gave a little smile and shifted slightly in his lap, and Carter knew that she had fallen asleep. He smiled and bent his head to place a soft kiss on her lips, then he settled her more comfortably on his lap. He was so content at that point that everything else disappeared, the hospital, their work colleagues, their families. All that mattered was that he was here, holding Abby in his arms, and that they were about to embark on a new life together, start their own family. He gave her one last look before closing his own eyes and joining her in the land of sleep.  
  
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(Outside the Lounge)  
  
"Hey Susan, have you seen Carter?"  
  
"Um, last I saw he was headed for the lounge," the younger doctor called out from behind a stack of patient files at the admit desk.  
  
"Okay, thanks!"  
  
Kerry Weaver had been looking for her chief resident for the past hour and was pleased to have finally found him before they both signed off for the night. She had some good news to share and she thought that Carter and Abby would like to hear it as soon as possible. She pushed open the door of the lounge and was just about to open her mouth to speak when she took in the scene in front of her...  
  
There was Carter sitting on the couch, head thrown back and eyes closed, snoring softly. And laying against his shoulder, her waist enveloped by his arms, also fast asleep, was Abby. The two of them looked so comfortable together that Kerry couldn't find it in her heart to wake them just yet, no matter how pleased they would be when they found out why. She quietly picked her coat and bag from her locker and backed silently out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her. Taking one last look through the window in the door she saw Abby snuggle into Carter's neck, causing him to stir slightly in his sleep and pull her closer to him.  
  
Kerry smiled and walked away, returning in a few moments to pin something to the door. There was plenty of time tomorrow to tell Carter that he had an attending position if he wanted it. For now she'd let him and Abby sleep...they looked like they needed it. She went over to the admit desk to sign out and walked out through the ambulance bay doors, casting a brief eye as she went at the sign she had posted on the door:  
  
DO NOT DISTURB: NEWLYWEDS  
  
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THE END  
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(And there it is. I'd like to thank everybody who has reviewed this fic over the months and who have emailed me with your words of support and encouragement. It means a lot to me. I don't have room to thank you all personally but you know who you are, and I hope you know I appreciate your help! Nothing more to say other than I have enjoyed writing this no end and, not that I'm hinting or anything, you wouldn't have to twist my arm to write a sequel! LOL. Em) 


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